Always With Me, Always With You
by Geddy Lee
Summary: Link isn't too different from an ordinary guy. He's silent, cool, and well, just plain real. Though he feels as though he is everything he wants to be, it takes a the new girl on the block, Zelda, to show him that there's more inside the both of them. R
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Zelda sighed as she looked out the window of the car, watching the hundreds of trees skip over the setting sun like a set of ballet dancers. She had her chin rested up against her fist; she solemnly looked out the window with a look of longing and depression in her eyes. With another sigh, she looked back to the seat in front of her.

It was the end of the summer, meaning the beginning of her junior year. Though she normally would have been very happy about this, she was actually rather depressed and aggravated. Her father had gotten a great job offer in San Demas California, meaning her moving from Florida to the unfamiliar area known as the Concrete Jungle.

She had been in Florida most of her life, growing up there, making friends there. It was nothing but pure irritation that she had to spend her final years of high school, her supposed best years, in a totally new world. Her dad told her to look on the bright side, but that was just a tad bit difficult when her enter life had been torn from her suddenly.

Just she, her father, and her older brother, Serj, left to California. Serj was a senior, and equally disappointed with the situation. It did give Zelda some comfort knowing that her brother would be with her through the whole thing as well. They could help each other, yes… then it wouldn't be nearly as bad.

Zelda was 17, and Serj 18. Their mother had passed away when Zelda was only 6 years of age. It devastated the family, needless to say; yet somehow, they still managed to limp on through the hard times. Their father had to work two very stressful jobs just to put Mac and cheese on the table every night, the occasional Ramen noodles or a casserole.

The car they owned was merely an old 1987 Honda Civic. They didn't have the money to pay for Zelda to get her license, and Serj had to bust his butt at his dead end job just to be able to scrape up enough money for the course, though it was nice having two drivers in the family.

It's rather obvious that the two children had to grow up very fast at a very early age. Zelda did not find this irritating however; she was more responsible and mature that most people ten years older than her. She had always just shrugged it off and taken it as part of life.

They had been traveling for five days now and still had another day to go until they met their destination. They were much too poor to afford plane tickets, so they rented a trailer and transported all their things like that. To their utter dismay, the trailer cost so much money that they had to sleep in the car in a parking lot or something of the sort, hoping that no cops were to come by.

Zelda continued to glare out the car window; her beautiful features had turned to desperate and grieved lines. Night had fallen now, and her eye lids became heavy. Growing more wearisome of the long ride, she drifted to sleep in an awkward state of mind.

Link sat on his bed in the small apartment that he and two of his high school buddies inhabited, his blazing guitar chops running away. He spent most of his time nowadays screeching away at his Ibanez S Series guitar with metallic copper finish. He smiled as he finally got down the last final notes for a personal favorite of his, a very difficult song from guitar god, Steve Vai; For the Love of God.

It had taken him a year of working on it to finally pick out each and every little riff and subtlety, but with a great smile of pride on his face, he realized he had accomplished what most people could never do.

Link was a senior at San Demas high now, well, after the next week he would be starting back in his new year. He didn't have the great reputation of star football jock that all the ladies wanted, but he had his share of the girls drooling at him as he passed them through the halls.

He undoubtedly had the BEST band in town, and there was no question about it. They were known as Prototype, and had very consistent gigs just about every weekend, and often about three shows within those last three days! With blazing guitar chops, booming bass licks, and thunderous drumbeats, they were able to cover great bands like: Avenged Sevenfold, Rush, Dreamtheater, Pantera, and many, many other bands that most people would never even attempt to try. This single fact earned Link all the popularity that he needed as lead guitar and backing vocalist.

He smirked at his own success as he set the guitar on its stand and tossed his white medium pick onto the dresser with its assortment of other picks and several Allen wrenches for tuning. Taking a quick glance at his clock, he now realized that 11 o clock had already crept up on him. He had started playing at just 4 in the afternoon!

"Damn I'm good," he thought to himself sarcastically, though in a way, truthfully.

He hadn't even realized he had played a straight 7 hours and hadn't even left his room to go to the bathroom. Link was rarely disturbed throughout the whole summer, since his buddies were always out partying and getting drunk and high; the usual stupid high school shit basically.

Link just spent most of his time playing, whether he was jamming at the warehouse his band rented out, or just sitting on the couch with the TV on blazing away. Seeing no point in staying awake any longer, he shrugged his shoulders and turned out the light before sliding under the covers in his bed.

His apartment was very small. Though it had two bedrooms in it, that still didn't change the fact at how poor the place was. Link took one of the rooms, while the other two roommates hogged the other room and the living room. The rooms were not much bigger than a decent sized walk in closet, and the carpets an old musty brown. Clothes, guitar magazines, and other assorted teenage guy crap was strew lazily across his room. Pots and pans with caked on crud littered the kitchen, and the living room didn't look much better with its many Doritos's bags and beer cans lying around. The couch in the living room was an awful dark orange and yellow color, but it was rather comfortable.

Link made his money for rent off of the gigs he did all the time. He made roughly three hundred bucks a weekend that he could keep for himself, so he was not at all struggling, while the other two had to work cruddy jobs to bring in a couple hundred dollars a month. Link felt bad, but hey! He couldn't help that he was just that good!

As you see, this is really nothing more than just an intro chapter. Please read and review, I'll have many more writings to come. Thanx guys

Geddy


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Zelda stretched out her arms and yawned heavily as the bright light of the sun poured into the car. After rubbing her eyes and looking around a bit, she noticed that Serj was driving, while her father was asleep in the passenger seat. She furled her brow a little.

"What's up?" she asked in a groggy voice.

"Oh, hey. Sleep well?" the blonde haired boy asked.

"Yeah… What's going on?" she asked as she found it odd that he was driving.

"Dad didn't want to stop last night, so he just had me take over and drive on through. Wanted to get into San Demas as early as possible, just like us," Serj finished explaining.

Zelda nodded a sarcastic nod and rolled her eyes. No duh they wanted to get there! They never wanted to leave in the first place, although she was put at ease a little bit with the fact that they would be there sooner than expected. It only made her more delighted as they passed the mile marker: San Demas-74 miles. With a sigh of relief, Zelda leaned back and absorbed more of the air-conditioning.

Link didn't away until about 1 in the afternoon. He knew that his buddies either didn't come home, or they were sprawled out in apartment somewhere with a horrid hangover. Rubbing at his eyes and shuffling his messy sand-blonde hair, he dazedly stumbled into the living room. Nobody had returned, to his strange relief.

He had less than a week left now before school started back up; maybe it was time to do something with what little time he had left? Wasting no time more on that thought, he jumped into the shower to clean off his worn body. God only knows had badly he needed it.

Throwing in the "Signals" album from Rush into his expensive thousand dollar sound system, he cranked up the volume before letting the warm wash over him. He absorbed both the music and the warm water that soaked into his naked skin. Closing his eyes, he put his face directly under the water spout and let the beads of water hit him softly.

It soothed him as the water cleansed his eyes and shoulders. After scrubbing his messy blonde hair with shampoo and conditioner (and of course after using the soap on his body), he stepped out and grabbed a towel from the cabinet just in front of him. Drying off his body, he headed into his room for a clean change of clothes.

Link was a tall young 18 year old, about 6 feet in height or so, give or take. His blonde hair hung into his face and draped onto his back a bit; his body perfectly built and toned (much to his surprise, considering the fact that he had never set foot in a gym). He guessed he got his physique from all the manual labor he while he was growing up, not to mention how much all of his bands equipment weighed. He was the epitome of stud.

He slipped on a pair of torn, faded blue jeans and slid black belt through the loops of his old pants. Not bothering with the shirt, he headed for the kitchen; his two rock/metal style necklaces swinging about on his neck. With much displeasure, he began to scrub each and every pot and dish that was in the kitchen, grunting all the while as he had to search the apartment for any other dishes that were scattered about the wreckage.

Although not much got him down, so long as he had his music. The "Signals" album was finished almost by the time he finished the kitchen, causing the CD player to switch over to the infamous Police. Grooving on the old Ska/Reggae band, he finished the kitchen and on to the next laborious task that was sure not to be too hard to find.

Zelda's family pulled into San Demas when it was close to 2 in the afternoon. Serj had switched back to snoozing away in the passenger seat and her dad was driving again. It had been the most exhausting car ride she had ever experienced, and she was glad it was over.

They passed through was seemed like another days worth of unwanted traffic before they were finally on a small street that headed down to some cheap houses. Zelda wasn't happy about her father's selection, as you may expect. She had never seen the house, but by the looks of the neighborhood, she wasn't going to care much for it.

Her dad had told her that the new company he was working for gave it to him for minimal rent, only 100 dollars a month. Though that price was rather unbeatable, it didn't change the fact that Zelda wasn't thrilled about living in a dump.

However, when they passed through the crud ridden neighborhood, Zelda was rather surprised. It didn't take her long to realize after they pulled up in front of a house the size of a mansion that her smugness was for no reason. The place was huge!

It had to be at least three stories high, with a fine white paint finish. It was in perfect condition and more than enough room for what they needed it for. Zelda's appetite for this new house when she realized the back yard was made of sand and beyond the sand was the ocean. It was her dream house.

"I told you it wouldn't be all that bad," Zelda's father told her when he saw the girl's face beam with delight.

"Wow… The company practically gave this to us?" she stuttered.

"Yeah, they did! I was surprised myself, but like I said before, this company was owned by my grandfather some time ago. It's almost like a written law to be good to me, ha! Well, shall we go inside?" he inquired.

Zelda excitedly lunged out of the car with such disgrace that she jolted the seat in front of her, waking her brother up in an irritated state. Zelda couldn't help but just gaze at the massive mansion in disbelief. Was this really her house?

Zelda beamed and hurried through the front oaken doors that towered a good ten feet taller than her. A huge staircase and foyer lay before her; the staircase branching off in two different directions. It was as though she had just stepped into Wayne Manor from Batman!

"Pick whichever you room you like, there's plenty of them," her father encouraged.

Both she and Serj were feeling much better already. As the two teens made their way up the steps, their father watched in happiness. He hadn't seen them this happy in years. Now he could finally give them what they wanted…

Link's CD player had switched over to Avenged Sevenfold and was blaring "Beast and the Harlot" to beat all. He had just about cleaned up the entire place; the kitchen was lemon clean, the bathrooms neatened and scrubbed… he even had the common decency to do everyone's laundry and clean their rooms, not to mention vacuum as well. He was just finishing vacuuming the living room when his roommates walked in the door.

They stared in amazement as he went about his business with his music going and the vacuum buzzing. Charlie seemed to be blinded by how clean it was, and Eric though that he still had a severe hangover.

"Dude, is it just me, or did Link clean this place up?" Eric spoke.

"Link, man, are you on something?" Charlie asked after Link shut off the vacuum.

"Guys, this place has looked like shit for weeks. Somebody had to clean it, and I knew the two of you sure as hell weren't going to," he smirked.

"Damn dude, you're the best."

"I know," Link said with a roll of his eyes.

He sadly had to tell the two of them that the parties had to stop. It was the last week, time to sober up and get used to waking up early. Link was no goody good, having his share of the drugs, booze, and the sex among other things, but he was responsible at the same time; a rare quality around San Demas it seemed.

The three guys chilled out and just threw in a few movies to pass the time. Link didn't know how it was he was able to live with Charlie and Eric, but he did. He figured the word "co-exist" was the more proper usage. He loved the two guys to death, but they were very different from him. They were all about the drugs, parties, girls, and the usual. Link had no problem with this, and would occasionally join them, but… he loved music, and he had passion. Two things the two other guys would never know.

Zelda popped open the top of her suitcase and exasperated upon looking at all of her clothes. It had taken them a few hours to get all of their things in, beds and furniture included. Luckily, they didn't really have all that much: a bed and a dresser plus nightstand is all she had. She diligently pulled out her neatly folded clothes and placed them in the proper drawers.

Zelda was so worn that she could barely even keep her eyes open. It was surprising how a car drive could drain the life out of you so easily. She yawned several times as she unpacked, obviously very unenthused with things. Yes, the house was nice, but that didn't change the fact that she had to start a new school next week and had to make a ton of new friends. Her brother had noticed a music shop on the way to the house and seemed very eager to visit it the next day. Serj himself was a guitar player and never passed up a chance to check out new gear. With Zelda having nothing better to do, she decided to go with him. It was the start of the most challenging year of her life…

So what do you guys think so far? The plot is slowly starting to form, though it may not seem that way, hahaha. But anyways, R&R quickly please. Thanx again guyz

Geddy


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The sun dawned a new day and Link sheepishly slid out of bed onto the floor. If the sun wasn't enough to wake him, the sharp thud of his head knocking against the ground sure was. He sat up and rubbed the side of his head before standing up and heading out the door.

First thing as always in Link's schedule: shower. He noticed that the shower was the best place he had found for thinking. He found it rather strange as well that he seemed to plan his day in the shower. Scary thing is, for most people that seems to be a normal thing…

After drying himself off with the green towel he grabbed from the towel rack, he had planned out what he was to do. He had noticed that his strings on his guitar were starting to get rather dirty and a little to rough for his taste. Link never was much for screwing with his guitar anymore than possible, so he decided to go grab a few extra packs of strings from the local music shop round lunch time.

His roommates hadn't even begun to stir yet, not to any surprise. No doubt they had stayed up until five in the morning or so. Link rolled his eyes at the thought and slipped on his usual worn and torn jeans with the old black belt. Slipping on a black Avenged Sevenfold T-shirt, he ran a comb through his hair a few times to make his nice even part that he liked in that mess of blonde hair. After spraying on a bit of cologne and scrubbing his teeth almost to a bloody pulp with his toothbrush, he grabbed his car keys and headed out the door.

As he clopped his way down the stairs in his ratty pair of Chucks, he crammed his wallet into the back of his pocket. Link always wore rather tight-fitting shirts, since he had the body for it. His biceps and perfectly toned abs just seemed to line and bulge out of the shirts. After sliding his Aviator sunglasses on and turning on the "Beast and the Harlot" once again, he tore out of the parking lot like a bat out of hell. A smirk grew on his face as he whizzed by other drivers in his jet black Camaro.

"You coming?" Serj asked impatiently.

"Yeah, give me a sec, sheesh…" Zelda whined.

Serj tapped his foot edgily as his sister took her sweet time getting ready to leave. Serj was a rather handsome guy himself. He had messy blonde hair that just sat flatly gelled on his head; fierce emerald green eyes pierced through everything they crossed. He was just about 6 feet tall with not too much muscle on his bones, but enough for everything he did through life. Lack of muscle never hurt him in a fight that was for damn sure. He had very pointed features with his long nose and short eyebrows. He was dressed in an army green shirt with black baggy pants.

Zelda frantically put clothes on the other side of the door. She had overslept and now Serj was waiting on her, oh how bad she felt. She slipped on a pale yellow tank top that really showed off the fullness of her breasts without calling out the word "slut" to everyone that passed by. Zelda was a virgin and was damn proud of it. She wore a pair of short jean shorts that came up about three inches up from her knee; her dirty blonde hair was wavy as usual and stretched down to her lower back. She was shorter than her brother, only managing to reach the height of 5'5, but she never let her petite figure get her down, for she always found it sexy. Her sharp features almost mimicked her brother's it seemed, though her nose was a bit pointier and her face more narrow. Slipping on a pair of pink Old Navy sandals, she grabbed her purse and popped through the door.

"Why are you coming anyways? You don't have interest in my musical style," Serj interrogated as they walked down the giant stairs to the large oak doors.

"What, I can't spend a nice summer day out with my brother?" she smarted off.

"Alright then Ms. Smarty-pants, be that way," he joked and pushed the doors open for her.

They both got into their old but beloved car and searched the local radio stations for some tunes. Serj was happy when he switched it on and found Pantera, while Zelda was more of the Avril Lavigne fan. With the only other option being The Carpenters, they shut it off in a compromise.

Link walked into the music store and headed to the room in the back, where he had been so many times. As he scanned over the rack filled with guitar strings, he noticed his favorite brand and pulled out three sets. As he went to leave, he couldn't help but notice the Eric Johnson signature Stratocaster that hung on the wall. Giving it an evil grin, he pulled it off the shelf and plugged it into the nearest Fender guitar amp.

It was gorgeous, a true beauty to him. It had a candy apple red finish and a maple neck slick as marble. As he pulled a pick from his pocket, he kept the volume fairly low… well, at least low enough to where everyone could hear him, but not so loud he would get kicked out of the store. It wouldn't have been the first time.

He wailed away at hit, pulling out all the tricks in his hat he could think of; his blazing chops running limitless pentatonic scales up and down the smooth fret board. It was like chemistry as he began to play Crazy Train from Ozzy. With another evil smile, he decided to dig a little farther into his repertoire…

"I just don't get why you think my music is oh so bad," Serj argued with Zelda as he parked the car.

"I don't think it's bad, Serj. I'm just not a huge fan of the vocals, you know? That trashy band Slipknot? They make my skin crawl with their cookie monster vocals all the time…"

Serj couldn't help but laugh at the cookie monster comment as he stepped out of the car. He had never heard it put like that, but he had to admit she was right. It was as though the classic Sesame Street character had taken over some of the vocal styling of the day.

"What I don't understand is why it is that you are so thrilled by it. I mean, do you real…"

"Do you hear that?" Serj rudely interrupted.

"No, I wasn't talking," Zelda smarted off.

"Holy shit, whoever that is, is a god!" Serj exclaimed.

He opened the door to the music store; he could actually hear it clear as day outside. The sound was so clean and melodic. He had never heard anybody play it like that. And the fact that this guy was playing "La Villa Strangiato" from Rush was amazing anyways. That was Alex Lifeson's most difficult piece! And Lifeson was no slug!

Serj peered around the corner to see that he was not the only onlooker. Several people had gathered about a blonde haired guy around the same age as himself. With his jaw on the floor and his mind in awe, he watched and listened intently. Serj had confidence in himself, but this was ridiculous. This guy was ripping it off as though he bored!

After watching the man finish his piece, a few people actually applauded and asked him what his name was. Just being modest, the boy would make simple, yet polite comments to people until they finally cleared off. Serj knew the boy must be annoyed, but he didn't care. He HAD to talk to this guy.

After the other onlookers had cleared off, Serj stepped up to the young man as he was putting the guitar back in its place. The teen turned and looked Serj right in the eye, but not at all a look of spite, but of sincerity.

"Hey, my name's Serj," Serj greeted as he extended his hand.

"Hello Serj, call me Link," Link returned as he firmly shook his hand.

"I couldn't help but notice that you were playing La Villa Strangiato man. That was amazing," Serj modestly complimented, though he was very eager to just tackle Link and squeeze the skill out of him.

"You know Rush?" Link stuttered, very surprised that this guy actually knew what song he had just been playing.

"Hell yeah man, one of my fave bands. I'm a guitar player myself, but I've never really gotten into a band, though I've always wanted to. I like to think I'm decent, but I don't know…"

"Well here."

Link reached up and picked the guitar back up and plugged it in. In an encouraging gesture, he handed Serj the guitar. Urging him to play it, Serj began to feel a little uncomfortable. He was good, but not THAT good.

"Alright…"

Serj took as seat and pulled off everything he knew. He was able to come out with some Avenged Sevenfold, a little bit of Rush, that sort of thing. He knew he only had one chance to make a good first impression, and he didn't want to blow it.

"How long have you been playing?" Link asked when he was finished.

"Around four years or so give or take," Serj replied, placing the guitar to rest.

"You know, I've got a band here in San Demas called Prototype… heard of us?" Link asked eagerly.

"No man. I just moved her with my sis and dad yesterday," Serj replied, a little embarrassed.

"Really? You in school still?" he prodded.

"Yeah, senior this year… why?" Serj asked, a little taken aback.

"I'll guess I'll be seeing you around school then," Link stated with a grin.

"Holy shit, you're still in school? I never would have guessed," Serj stuttered.

"Ha! I get that a lot. Say man, I wouldn't mind having a rhythm guitar player in Prototype…" Link hinted as though he just dropped a huge bomb.

"Are you offering me an audition?" Serj stuttered again dumfound.

"You don't even need to audition man; you're more than good enough. I'll let you do a little lead too man. Here's my phone number. We're getting together tomorrow night, what do you say?" Link inquired, knowing that the offer wouldn't be refused.

"Hell yeah. I'll call you later tonight then," Serj replied, very excited if I may add.

"Alright, great man. See you around," Link said as he turned around.

As he started to walk, he noticed a young woman just in front of him. She was breathtaking, to say the least. Link was dumbstruck at how beautiful she was. Realizing that he was staring, and probably had his mouth wide open, he quickly recovered from the awkward moment.

"Oh, I'm sorry mam," he stated quickly.

"Oh, yeah, sorry Link. This is my little sister, Zelda," Serj cut in, realizing how rude he had been not to include her.

Zelda only gave Link a half-hearted, half-smug smile. Link took the hint and smiled at her and continued walking to buy his strings. Serj glared at Zelda a bit. What the hell had gotten into her?


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"What the hell was that all about?" Serj bitched at Zelda as they left the store.

"I don't like that guy," she said coldly.

"Why? What's wrong with him? He just offered a position in one of the major bands around here. Oh, wait, excuse me… a FREE position," Serj grieved, his voice becoming angry.

"And I'm happy for you, but I just don't like him. He's got that "I'm oh so good and everyone else is lower than me" attitude. He didn't even notice me!" she snarled as Serj pulled out of the parking lot towards their home

"Well maybe if you hadn't stood behind those amps moping like a fucking hermit he would have!" Serj snapped, growing louder and more sarcastic with every second.

"I'm sorry ok! I just don't like the guy. And then, to top the whole damn thing off, he was like drooling over me when he turned around," Zelda continued, fueling Serj's irritation.

"You're just pissed off because I've already made a start for myself here and you are going to have to do the same without me. I don't care if you don't like him. I do! And I don't want to hear you fucking bitchin' about him ALL the time like you are known to do. So just drop it," Serj growled in a low tone.

Zelda rolled her eyes and her lip curled back in anger, but she knew not to say anything. She would only be throwing rocks at the angered beast as it was, and it was best to let sleeping dogs lie. But was he right? Was she just afraid of to do something on her own without big brother there to help here very step of the way? No, hell no. That was just a damn good comeback, right? Only a comeback…

Link was fairly pleased when he made his way up to the steps to the apartment complex. He had been searching for a rhythm guitar player that could hang with him for some time now, and he finally found the answer. This guy Serj knew his stuff, and executed it well.

Although, the sister, Zelda.

"What a smug little bitch… what the hell did I do to her?" Link thought to himself as he opened the door.

Whatever. Just a dumb little girl who he would hardly have to deal with. Rock was the true sign of revulsion, but it wasn't often that he ran into someone that just straight up did not like him like that. He shook it off as he began to loosen the nuts on his guitar with the nearby Allen wrench.

As he pulled the old strings off his Ibanez baby, he called up his drummer, Mido. Mido had grown a lot in the days of late, now breaking the height of 5'9. Nobody thought he would ever grow, but I guess some people just take longer.

"Yeah?" came Mido's voice over the phone.

"Hey man, it's Link."

"Whatsup?"

"I picked up a rhythm guitarist today man," Link bragged.

"No way! Hell yes," Mido shouted in a relieved voice.

"Yeah, he's going to come and practice with us tomorrow man. But yeah, I just wanted to let you know that. I'll talk to you later dude," Link finished.

"Ight. Laterz."

Link wasted no time in dialing his bassist and also his current closest friend, Kafei. Their vocalist had dropped out just a few days ago, which ended up not being as big of a deal as they had thought. Link was a better singer than he was, even though they didn't know that at the time. He could easily do both… IF he had a rhythm guitar player. Luckily, he did.

"Hello?"

"Kafei, it's Link. Good news buddy," he began as he tightened the A-string on his guitar.

"Bitch, don't keep me in suspense!"

"I picked up a rhythm guitar player."

"Thank god," Kafei said in the same tone as Mido.

"Yeah, he'll be out there tomorrow. He's pretty solid, so we should just be able to throw our stuff at him and he should be able to pick it all up with not too many problems."

"Nice, nice. Well, I'll love to chat, but I've got to run man."

With that, Kafei just hung up. Link shrugged and tossed the phone off to the side to concentrate on his guitar a bit more. He noticed that he had put two of the strings backwards. Cursing under his breath, he undid the strings and went back to work.

Zelda sat in her room, finding herself staring at the window. She was deeply enthralled in thought about… that guy. Link… What was oh so special about this jerk off, and not to mention, why was he on her mind? Why did she dislike him so much, when all he was doing was helping out Serj to carry out his dreams?

Zelda couldn't figure it out, and instead of trying just pushed it in the back of her mind for the time. She smiled however as she heard the soft acoustic playing of Serj's guitar. He was playing Closer to the Heart, one of her favorite songs. Falling onto her bed and still looking out her window, she listened to the chords and watched the sun set. She was happy for her brother… wasn't she?

The next day brought a invigorated Serj, which Zelda was always happy to see. He had already settled into the new atmosphere of San Demas, which she credited to Link, however much she disliked him. Serj called Link that day to set up the exact time, but was rather surprised when he was told to be there in one hour.

Through all of Serj's excited words, Zelda managed to pick out the fact that he was meeting with Link at the music store and from there he would follow him out to where Prototype practiced. Zelda was again, left alone as her brother left the house in an eager state.

Her father took the bus to work everyday in order to leave them the car. The company was paying him very well it seemed. She never imagined he would be making 21 dollars an hour and another hundred per day just for showing up to work, starting! But then again, the company was a little biased, not to mention the fact the their family desperately needed this, though Zelda would never let herself admit it.

She went back upstairs to her room and threw herself on the bed in a messy lump. School was four days from now… Serj was already in with one of the cool guys in the school, playing in the best band around. And she was still just Zelda, the good for nothing misfit who would have to desperately try to fit in somehow.

Serj returned some four or five hours later loaded with things to tell his sister. It had apparently gone very well for him, which Zelda was both angry and glad about. Serj continued to leave each and every day following day for the band, and repeatedly leaving her alone. Through the long and boring days, Sunday finally crept around: the day before school. Oh how she dreaded the day the ensued.


	5. Chapter 5

To the other readers who have kept up with this story, the first 4 chapters were really nothing more than an introduction to the characters, and just a quick stepping stone to give the plot momentum. Sorry if you guys found it boring, but here you go. This is where the story really begins. And so I can make it clear, Serj is basically Sheik, but I've always found it kind of stupid to use both Sheik and Zelda in a fic, well, you could probably guess why. Enjoy, thanks guys

Geddy

Chapter 5

Zelda stared up at the ceiling from her bed, a bag of Hershey's Kisses as her side. She had been awake since four in the morning and had been tossing the chocolate into her mouth whenever her head began to hurt. School started today… Why did she dread it so much? She didn't understand that. Sure it was a little difficult to adapt, but it wouldn't take too long, would it?

"Get up!"

Zelda heard a loud rap on her door, whom was undoubtedly Serj. Zelda rolled her eyes and didn't move. It was seven now, and they had to leave in 45 minutes. She had less than no desire to move. Her door slid open and her brother poked her head in.

"Stop moping and get up," he encouraged.

"Easy for you to say," she shot back, her eyes not leaving the ceiling.

"Well, you might want to take a shower before we leave. Smelling nice is always a good first impression," Serj added before closing the door.

He was right, whether or not she'd let herself admit it. She grudgingly got out of bed and headed to the bathroom just down the hall.

"Damn you look horrible," she said to herself in the mirror.

With another roll of her eyes, she took of her pajama pants and shirt and stepped into the shower. Fiddling with the knobs, she slowly searched the water for the right temperature. As the water slid over her body, she felt as though the water was nothing more than needles on her skin. This was sure to be a most trying day.

She gathered up her backpack after she was dressed and finished with her hair and headed down the stairs. Serj was sitting on the couch fiddling with one of his guitars, obviously waiting for her. Upon noticing her, he leaned the instrument against the couch and stood up, backpack in hand.

He was neither eager nor nervous it seemed, just plain old Serj. Zelda on the other hand kept her head low to the ground. She wore a white tank top and jean skirt, with her long wavy hair still gliding elegantly behind her. The two teens jumped in the car and hurried off to the first day. Zelda sighed heavily as they pulled further away from the house.

The school was nice however; very well built and looked fairly new, though some parts looked a little worn down. Zelda guessed that the place was older, but was just built onto recently. Palm trees hung outside billowing in the breeze while the students walked under them in a happy swarm. Zelda began to feel like she was the only depressed person there as she exited the car.

She knew that Serj was immediately going to meet up with Link, no doubt was in her mind about that. In fact, it seemed as though that's all Serj did in his spare time was hang out with Link… It was good to see things were going well though. Following behind her brother with her bag slung over her shoulder, she looked around a bit to survey the area. It was nice…

"Hey Serj," greeted Link in the hall.

"Oh hey man. I was afraid for a minute I wouldn't be able to find you," Serj stated, giving Link a quick handshake.

"Hello Zelda," Link said politely as he attempted to be a gentleman.

Zelda gave him a wry smile. Again, Link took the hint and left her alone. It appeared that both Link and Serj had classes together first period, to Zelda's utter dismay. It was time, she realized… time for her to go on by herself.

"See you later sis," Serj parted as he followed Link down the hall.

Zelda watched him until his was out of sight as tons of students passed by her. Looking at her schedule, she realized that Algebra 2 was up first for her. Following the little map she had (and feeling like a stupid and dorky little tourist), she found her way to the math hall.

Nervously entering the classroom, she noticed not too many people had shown up yet, giving her the prime opportunity to grab a seat in the back real quick. Slumping into the seat in the far corner, she anxiously awaited what would come next. She wasn't worried about what to do in class; it was kind of obvious, right? Sit there and pretend like you're paying attention. Oh yeah, she knew the drill.

One by one, more and more students filed in the classroom with their cliques. Zelda knew she was the outcast, but as long as she went unnoticed for the moment she didn't care. The bell ran and the students hurried to be in their seats, though that obviously wasn't much of a problem for Zelda.

The teacher was pretty nice and welcoming, even though she had a bit of a homely look to her. Her name was Ms. Anju and had apparently been at the school for several years now. She was pretty and neat, but just looked worn down.

Zelda knocked out her next class and then the lunch bell rang. Most of the students didn't care about the crap food anyways, but were just thankful they had 45 minutes to blow with their friends. That was a bit of a problem in Zelda's case, having no friends. She was relieved to see Serj had the same lunch, but he was busy with Link, Mido, and Kafei.

She managed to find a table on the right side of the cafeteria that was vacant and took herself a seat. Serj and his buddies sat at a table the she presumed to be Link's "spot", since everyone else seemed to steer clear of the area. What was oh so great about this guy that he was so well liked? So he was a guitar player, big friggin deal! He was arrogant, rude, a smartass… good looking, outgoing, nice… a damn good guitar player.

Zelda slapped herself. The last thing she need was to be thinking that the assholes around school were the cool ones, otherwise she would end up like a valley girl with daddy's credit card at her disposal. Not being hungry, she opened up her math book and began to go over what Ms. Anju had assigned. She felt like a total nerd doing it, but she had nothing better to do.

"I have to say though guys, the fact that the warehouse we're in now doesn't have any A/C is a pain in the ass," Kafei stated.

"Yeah, it is. You got any better ideas though?" Mido acknowledged.

"Look guys, we're renting that place out for 150 a month. Do we really have room to complain? Just bring a few hundred fans and it'll be fine," Link argued.

"I suppose. How long have you been in that place?" Serj asked.

"Shit, I think we've had it for close to a year now. We used to set up in Kafei's garage, but this old dude came over bitching about it, so we had to shut that idea down," Link answered as his eye caught Zelda.

Though she had been a bitch towards him, he couldn't help but feel sorry for her. She looked like one of those loser kids that had no friends and wandered alone all the time. Not to mention, she was pretty cute too.

"What the hell," Link thought to himself as he stood up.

The other three guys were a little surprised at the fact that Link was going to go and talk to the new girl. Neither Mido nor Kafei had the slightest clue who this new girl was, and Serj thought it was both cool and insane what Link was doing. The three of them watched in good spirits; they could always use a good laugh.

"Hey," Link said as he stepped up in front of her on the opposite side of the table.

"Hi," Zelda replied halfheartedly.

"Do you mind?" Link asked as he gestured to the seat in front of him.

Zelda shook her head. Link furled his eyebrows a bit and sat down. He didn't really know what to say to her… she didn't really seem to want him around. He remembered back when he had to deal with it too. He wouldn't let that happen to Serj's sister if he could help it.

"What do you think if your teachers so far?" he asked, not knowing what else to talk about.

"Excuse me, what do you want?" Zelda inquired rudely.

"Well, you looked lonely and I…"

"Go away," she snarled.

Link gave a look of irritation and even a little anger on his face before standing up. Zelda's eyes had not left her book at all. He was surprised she even acknowledged his presence.

"Piece of advice: you may not want to bite the hand that feeds you," Link shot back as he walked off.

Zelda looked up and watched him walk away, glaring at him all the while. What the hell was that supposed to mean? She didn't need him, nor did she want to have anything to do with him.

"Dude, your sister is a fucking bitch," Link grunted as he sat back down with his buddies.

"Sorry man, I don't know what her problem is. I guess she's just not adapting well to the move," Serj excused.

"Yeah well, last time I checked being a piss ant to the people who try to be nice to you is a damn good way of starting off on the wrong foot," he snarled, poking at his food.

God, that bitch was aggravating. What did he do? What was her problem? He hadn't done anything to her, barely even talked to her for that fact. Whatever, not his problem if the school hates her. Despite his ill feelings towards the girl, it didn't change the fact that he still felt a little sorry for her.

The day passed by slowly for Zelda. Serj met up with her after school with Kafei at his side. Zelda didn't know Kafei or Mido, but if they were part of Link's bunch, she didn't care for them much.

"Hey, we're going to hit the warehouse here in a minute. Sorry, but you'll have to get your own ride home. We have to learn five new songs by Friday," he informed.

With that he turned around and left. She couldn't believe what she just heard. He's turned into one of them already! Now she felt abandoned by her own brother. It was shocking that he was so abrupt and acted like he didn't care. Sighing, she knew it would be a long walk home.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

I want to tell you guys that I appreciate the reviews I've gotten so far. I know that this fic seems to be taking a while to develope, but I already have the next two chapters written. I got a few reviews that I was critized for, and I appreciate those just as much as the posotive ones. I took what you guys have said and worked on it a bit, so I hope you find it more interesting now. Give me some more reviews guys, and again, enjoy!

The sun beat down on Zelda as she dismally made her way down the sidewalk. She left a few of her schoolbooks back in her locker, making her backpack much, much lighter. Though, that didn't help the sweltering heat too terribly much.

"Hey babe, you looking for a good time?"

Zelda turned to see a car filled with football players with leather jackets. She cursed her bad luck and kept walking. They continued to josh her and poke fun until she finally exploded.

"Why don't you go give yourself a good time jackass!" she shouted.

Laughing, the driver swung his car through a puddle of mud. As they tore off, mud splattered and caked over the front of Zelda's body. A war raging inside her head, she began to run home.

"I hate this fucking town!" she screamed inside.

Once inside her house, she threw her book bag onto the floor and hurried upstairs. Ripping her clothes off, she dove into the shower and desperately fiddled with the knobs. Screaming at the top of her lungs, she fell to her knees as the ice cold water rained over her. Unnoticeable tears streamed down her face hidden by the water.

She felt a little better after her little shower incident, also since the mud was off. She wrapped herself in a robe and grabbed her mud caked skirt and shirt before she left the bathroom. Heading down the stairs, she noticed Serj was home now.

A bitter feeling crawling up her throat, she glared at the door and didn't even bother to greet him once he stepped over the threshold. Blowing him off, she headed straight for the washing machine and threw her clothes in with some soap.

"Zel?"

Zelda ignored her brother as she clicked the controls on the washing machine. She didn't know how to be nice in telling him just how much she loathed him at the moment.

"Are you ok?" Serj asked.

"No, I'm not ok!" she yelled as she whipped around, her wet hair like a ragged mop.

"What's wrong?"

"Do you even have to ask? This place sucks, this school sucks, I get blown off by everyone, and to top all of it off, you, the one person who I should be able to talk to is abandoning me! Yeah, I'm just fucking great!" she screamed this time.

"Hey, not to be a prick, but Link tried and you were kind of a bitch to him," he argued calmly.

"Damn it Serj! I don't want to be around him!"

"He tried at least, didn't he? That's more than I can say for the other people in the school," Serj continued, becoming a little flustered.

"And how the hell could you ditch me? Some punks harassed me on the way home and sprayed mud all over me. And where were you? Off having fun with your new pals, right?"

"Look Zelda, I'm not putting my life on hold because you are a fucking clam! I don't want to hear anymore of this stupid little girl shit. You're making this a bigger deal than you have to you know! Link tried and you blew him off. So no, I don't care, you're right. I'm avoiding you because you need to grow up sometime, and I don't see that happening with me standing over you all the time. Grow up Zelda," Serj shouted.

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

Serj turned and stormed off in a fury. Zelda was equally as flustered. After banging around the washing machine in utter rage, she headed up to her room and threw herself on the bed.

"He's right", she thought.

She was being kind of immature about the whole thing. She realized that she had a comfort zone she wasn't willing to break out of. Link was trying to help her, but she was pushing him away. She respected him for that, but sure as hell didn't mean she liked him.

The next brought a new Zelda with a different attitude. Grabbing the books she needed out of her bag, she headed downstairs to meet up with Serj. He was again sitting on the couch with his guitar waiting for his sister. He seemed as though he had nothing to say to her however, though she couldn't entire blame him. She had been pretty childish of the days of late.

Link slouched in his chair a few hours later. He had been in class five minutes and was already about to fall asleep. Trying to keep himself awake, he began to chew on his pencil eraser. Why he was doing that, don't ask, I bet he doesn't even know.

He hated physics. It was by far his least favorite subject of the year. He was no genius by any stretch, but he never really had a problem with any classes when it came to grades.

Mr. Rauru was also the most boring teacher he had every seen. Link watched as his silvery mustache bounced up and around with ever equally boring word that came from his mouth.

"You are waayyyyyyy too bored Link," he thought to himself.

He began contemplating whether or not he should take his pencil and stab himself with it in an attempt to get out of the class. He threw the hood on his hoody over his head and stuck the headphones of his CD player in his ears.

Pretending to be interested, he grooved on a mix of music he had made, all the while being unnoticeable. He couldn't help but look interested as Toxicity came on, followed by Dreamtheater's Pull Me Under.

He managed to hear the bell over the music and he darted out of the chair and headed for lunch. God he hated that class with a passion. Physics was not his favorite subject in the world, and the teacher being boring as hell wasn't much help.

"Damn that class is the shits," Link stated when Serj caught up to him.

"I wouldn't know," Serj stated with a hit of smugness in his voice.

"Fuck you," Link mumbled as they entered the cafeteria.

Grabbing a quick bite to eat, him and his usual band members grabbed the table they always sat at and began the continued useless chatter. Mido had picked up a babe named Saria they found out. Link had actually known the girl for a very long time, and was happy that Mido finally found someone that was actually cool and not a hoar.

Zelda caught sight of Link and his buddies as she entered the cafeteria coming from her second period class. Ignoring them, she began to head to the table she sat at yesterday.

"Watch it bitch!"

Zelda was shoved over and her books went flying in the air. Zelda looked up from the floor to see it was the football player who had been driving the car yesterday. Cursing under her breath, she stood up.

"You run into me again I'll do a lot more than sling mud at you," he threatened and turned to leave.

He was surprised when he found Serj standing behind him with his fists clenched tight. This football player was much bigger than Serj, but Zelda had no doubt that her brother could beat the shit out of him if he wanted. He was a scrapper to say the least.

"You may want to watch your back tough guy. I don't take to kindly to people talking to my sister like that you know," Serj snarled, trying to keep his cool.

"Fuck off you…"

Serj cut him off by grabbing the guy's arm and twisting it behind his back. Within a matter of seconds, Serj had the idiot on the floor at his mercy. Zelda couldn't help but giggle a bit as her brother squashed her enemy's face into the ground like a pancake.

"You see, what we have here is a failure to communicate!" Serj growled lowly.

"Alright, I get it! Get off me, you're going to break my arm!" the boy whined.

Serj let his grasp go and the stud got up off the floor, rubbing dirt off his jacket and face. He spat at Serj's feet before walking past him out of the building.

"You ok?" Serj asked his sister, who was busy gathering up her books.

"Yeah, thanks," she replied and for the first time, sincerely.

Serj simply nodded and walked back to his table, where he had his band mates in awe. Serj managed to catch the name of the jerk on the back of his jacket. Ganon… That would have to be a name he would watch out for.

"Here, let me help you."

Zelda noticed that a girl about her age with long red hair had knelt down to help her pick up her books.

"Oh, thank you," Zelda stuttered in a shocked voice.

"There you go," the girl said as she handed Zelda the rest of her books.

"Hey, thanks for that," Zelda thanked as she took the books.

"Oh sorry, my name's Malon," the red-head stated and extended her hand in a very girly fashion.

"Zelda," she replied simply and gave a light shake of the hand.

"Say, why don't you come over and sit with me and my bunch. I noticed you looked little lonely over here," Malon invited.

"Oh, of course," Zelda returned happily.

With a smile, Malon turned and headed to where she had been sitting. Zelda would have been stupid to turn down that offer. There were two other girls at the table when they arrived: another red head and a blonde headed girl.

"Girls, this is Zelda," Malon announced as she sat down next to the blonde girl.

Zelda smiled shyly and sat down next to the second red head. She found that the red head's name was Romani, and the blonde was Aryll. Malon and her hit it off well, and the other two girls were very sweet too. Overjoyed that Malon had the next class with her, Zelda began to like the school a bit. It had been rough at first, but things were ok now. Maybe things wouldn't be as bad as she thought…

After lunch, her and Malon headed to their Chemistry class.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Serj ended up taking Zelda home after school.

"You were supposed to do that to begin with you bastard…" she selfishly thought to herself.

"I see you lived a little today," Serj joked.

"Ha, yeah, I guess I did. Malon and the other girls were really sweet, actually. I'm going over to her house tomorrow after school," Zelda informed, almost as though she was proud of herself.

"Does she drive?"

"Yeah, she'll take me home. Don't worry, I wouldn't want to ruin happy time," Zelda smarted off, but was actually pretty serious.

"I talked to Link about that guy Ganon," he began.

"And?"

"We should actually be careful of him. Surprisingly, he's the guy every girl, save you, wants," Serj growled in irritation of the subject.

"Ugh! He's ugly!"

"Ugly doesn't change the fact he's the high school quarterback," he stated.

"Oh, that explains a lot," she replied with a roll of her green eyes.

"Yeah. So pretty much he has everyone at the school on his side, basically. His little B squad could easily beat the shit out of me… Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I could help you out today with him, but next time I don't think it'll be enough…"

"Yeah."

Zelda got a creepy feeling from the guy, much worse than she did from Link. Although, Zelda's opinion of Link had begun to change already. He wasn't so bad after all. She knew she was saying this now only because she was no longer jealous of Serj, though there was no way in hell she would ever tell him that.

Now it seemed as though there was a little something special about this Link. She began to wonder if her upfront hatred had only been her heart covering up the opposite feeling. No, there was no way she could actually have feelings for him! Although… he was pretty handsome.

Link on the other hand was becoming less enthused with her every time he thought about the girl. Why did he even care? Just some stupid girl that has a serious attitude problem.

He fiddled with the old song "Spirits in the Material World" from The Police, but couldn't seem to concentrate enough to pick out the chord progression in the song. Flustered, he set the guitar on its stand and laid on his back, his hands behind his head like a cradle. Time sure did fly.

His next show was three days from now… thanks to Serj that is. If it hadn't been for him, it would have been pretty damn hard to do all of that with just the three in the band. Zelda… Damn it! He was doing it again; thinking about that dumb girl. Was he getting soft or something? He had things to do… important things.

The following morning brought dark gray clouds and a light drizzle. The summer season was beginning to pass and the cool fall come upon them unexpectedly. The grass in the front of the school was moist with the tiny droplets of water that slid down each blade like its own little waterfall.

"Californication" was heard from Link's car as he pulled up in the parking lot. He wore a thick black hoody with the "Fender" logo on the front, and his usual faded torn up jeans. Trudging through the damp lawn, he made his way to first period with Serj. Third days of school and he already felt like a semester had passed.

Zelda was nearly falling asleep in her first period class. Boredom struck her like a ton of bricks for some reason. She just wanted to get out and go do something. Laughing in her head, she realized that this was what it was like when you actually have friends. And then there was Link after… Damn it!

Her thoughts were the same as Link's were. She had to figure out why her thoughts kept on drifting over to him. She was becoming more aggravated as she thought about it, but couldn't seem to get the subject off her mind.

At lunch she often found her eyes wondering over to his table with Serj and the other two guys. There were a few times where she caught Link's eyes and quickly looked away. Making eye contact was a major no-no in every book written on earth.

Link knew this as well, as he too found his eyes drifting over to her table. Although, Link had a lot more self control than she did. He wasn't desperate to figure out what the hell was wrong with him, unlike Zelda. The two of them were sharing the same thoughts as each other. Kind of creepy how two people thought they both hated one another were almost connected.

Zelda told Serj after school that she was getting a ride home from someone else. Serj found this somewhat peculiar, but didn't question. Zelda obviously lied… she was going to follow Link. She had noticed that he had gone to his car, but hadn't gotten in it. Instead he pulled out something that was very long and wrapped in white paper. It was only more suspicious when he stuff whatever it was inside of his hoody and started walking to the outskirts of town.

As Zelda trailed him, keeping her distance all the while, she began to wonder if she was mad. "Have I gone completely insane?" she thought to herself. There was no point in turning back now; she had already followed him for ten minutes. She was rather surprised to see that Link had made his way outside the actual city and towards a large fenced in field.

He kept his head down and the hood over. There was an opening in the gate that Link was headed straight for it seemed. She prayed he didn't turn around and notice that she was following him, considering the fact that she now had nowhere to hide in the middle of a field.

He turned into the gated area and she quickly followed, although she stopped dead in her tracks when she realized where she was. A graveyard. What the hell was wrong with his guy? She shook it off and followed him down the paths of tombstones.

The graveyard had an even colder feel to it than the rain and wind itself did. Zelda was actually a bit frightened. There was something up with the wack job, and she intended to find out. She then realized that he had stopped finally and she stepped behind a tree that was only about three feet behind him.

Link looked down under his heavy wet hoody at the grave that lay before him. Taking out the white concealed paper he had, he looked longingly down. As he unfurled it, Zelda realized that it was just roses. She was all wrong about this guy. He wasn't crazy… he was hurting.

"Hey guys…" Link began as he kneeled down. "I know I haven't been here in a while… been kind of busy with the band you know. Things are going pretty good with the whole thing as I had hoped for. We got this really cool guy named Serj who just moved here from Florida with his sister. His sister… man, there's a piece of work! Ha, I don't know though. There's something special about her, though I can't put my finger on it. I won't bore you with that though… I guess, really I just wanted to stop by, let you guys know I still love you, and, well, I miss you a lot. I'll be back soon to see you again, take it easy," he finished, his throat tightening.

He dropped the roses down on the grave and stood up, stuffing his hands in his pockets. With a very heavy sigh, he slowly turned and headed back for the gate. After Link had gone a little ways, Zelda came out from behind the tree to get a quick look at the grave stone. It read:

In memory of Darin and Margery, and their beloved son Tyler. May their thriving son be the missing Link to their dreams…

Zelda was astonished. It was his parents and brother. That's why people called him Link… he got it from the tombstone. Zelda felt as though she was about to cry now. How could someone go on like that with so much loss in his life? She began to feel horrible about treating him so badly. He had felt true pain before…

"What the hell are you doing here?"

Zelda spun around in shock to see Link standing there. He looked very angry, as though his skin was boiling. She didn't exactly blame him, yet she was still terrified of him.

"I, well…"

"Spit it out," Link growled, his eyes breaking through her like knives.

"I followed you," she confessed.

"That much is obvious! Why?" he replied rudely.

"Look… I, I don't know, ok!" she stated truthfully.

"You did it just for the hell of it?"

"Yeah, basically…" she said meekly.

Link was infuriated, but he still felt a little for her. Damn it, there it goes again! Sighing heavily, he knew that pissing off her brother by being an ass would do no good.

"You need to get out of the rain before you get sick, come on," Link stated calmly and gestured for her to follow him.

"Oh, ok…"

Zelda was utterly shocked. She had just being spying on him and he shows like he's concerned and that he cares? Now she knew that there was something really wrong with him.

When she caught up to him, he said nothing, but kept his head low and his hoody on. She couldn't even see his face because the hood was so big. She started to feel a little awkward.

"If, if you don't mind me asking… who were they?" Zelda inquired, although she had a pretty good guess as you saw.

"My parents. And my little brother," he said flatly.

"Oh. When did it happen?" she pried further.

"Three years ago. We were on a trip to Florida strangely enough. Dad lost control of the car and crashed over the side of the bridge and into the river. Don't ask me how I survived, I don't know," he explained in an icy tone.

She knew he was choking back tears even though she couldn't see it. Even **she **was trying to keep herself from crying. Zelda now felt worse than ever that she had treated him the way she had before. He was a good guy after all.

"Link… I'm sorry, for everything."

"What do you mean?"

"About your family and…"

"Don't worry about it. It's not your fault; it's in the past."

"…And that I was so rude to you earlier," she finished.

Link gave her a puzzled look. What made this girl have such a change of heart? Oh well, not like it really matter, right?

"Oh, yeah, thanks," he replied.

"I don't know, I just got this weird feeling about you at first. But you're an ok guy Link, I really am sorry," she apologized again.

"Really, thanks. Now I don't have to be worried about anything happening with your brother."

Zelda laughed a bit at this. It was true though, sadly enough. Link ended up taking her home after they got back to his car at the school. Giving Link a wave goodbye, she parted ways with her new friend.


	8. Chapter 8

Again, thanks for all the reviews guys. I've had a couple comments about how there's no plot... well, let's see, have you read the story all the way through yet? Nope, this is only chapter 8 right here, and the next three have already been written. This is one of those fics that doesn't throw its plot at you in the first chapter. It develops so slowly, it almost drags to a point. Don't worry guys, this chap along with the next two will make things a little more apparent. thanx guys

Geddy

Chapter 8

Zelda lay on her bed staring up at the ceiling. She had begun to notice that it seemed as though she spent most of her in depth thinking while staring at the ceiling. Strange, eh?

Link was an ok guy after all. She began to feel worse every time she thought about him now. She knew that she had been so selfish; Link had true horrors in his past and moved on, while Zelda moped and cried about her having to change her life a little. Link's life took a much, much more drastic change than hers had after all.

Snapping from her thoughts, she looked off to the clock in the far corner of her room. It was already past midnight, yet Zelda was not at all tired. Sighing heavily, she knew that it would be stupid to stay up any later; she had to be up in six hours as it was, and she needed all the sleep she could get. Turning off the light, she rolled over and fell into a restless sleep.

Zelda's body jerked upright as a loud rap sounded from the door. She shook her head a bit, attempting to shake off her headache. She realized then that her alarm was going on.

"I don't see how you manage to do that," Serj shouted through the door.

Rolling her eyes, Zelda slammed the snooze button on her alarm clock. Though she knew she shouldn't, she threw the blankets back over her and shut her eyes. She couldn't care less right now about getting up.

"Get up! We need to be there in a half hour," Serj ordered before turning and leaving her door.

A half hour. Yeah right. There was no way in the world she would be ready in a half hour. It would take her a half hour just to get out of the shower, not to mention the fact she had to dry her hair, straighten it, put on her make up… the list just went on. Caring less whether or not she was late to school, she rolled herself out of bed and trudged into the bathroom.

"Hey, Link… Link!"

Link couldn't hear Mido. He was far too busy staring at the desk in front of him and nibbling on the end of his pen. Their teacher was sick that day, so the substitute just gave them a free class period.

"Link!"

"Yeah!" Link returned as he jolted in his seat, banging his knees against the desktop.

"Dude, do you where Serj is?" Mido inquired with a scrupulous look on his face.

"Oh, no…" Link trailed.

"What's with you man? You high or something?" Mido joshed.

"Fuck you Mido, you know I don't do drugs anymore," Link retorted with a glare.

"Then what's up dude? You're all zoned out and shit."

Link didn't reply. He was too busy thinking about Zelda. She was a sweetheart… and also one of his best friend's sister. He hadn't known Serj very long, but they had gotten to be such good friends that he felt as though he had known him for his entire life.

Pondering his situation, he knew it was only a matter of time before he popped… He had to tell someone. Mido was his closest friend, surely he could tell Mido, right?

"Look man, there's something you need to know…" he began.

"Oh, oh god. You didn't turn gay on me did you?" Mido said as he rolled his eyes.

"Cut the crap Mido, I'm serious. I think… I think I have a thing for Zelda," he said in a low tone.

"What the hell! You've wanna pork your best friend's sister?" Mido exasperated a little too loudly.

"Keep it down dickwad!" Link growled in a hushed voice as a few people looked over at them.

"Sorry… but really dude, you're just screwing with me, right?"

"Hate to say it, but no," Link replied truthfully with a look of guilt.

"Man, that's some crazy stuff. Well you know what I say."

"And I don't want to screw her man," Link recovered.

"Whatever you say. Face it, you're Mr. Stud. Kind of hard to keep it in your pants when you have just about any girl at your beck and call, eh?" Mido contorted.

"I wouldn't go that far… I'll just let it ride; I'm sure it will pass eventually," Link assured, more for himself than Mido.

"If you say so."

"Mido, you can't tell anyone, no matter what. Especially not Serj," Link demanded in a worried voice.

"Well, when you said not to tell **anyone**, Serj is included in **anyone**, isn't he?" Mido smarted off.

"Screw you man. I told you trusting you would help me out. You got my back on this one or not?" Link asked in an almost furious tone.

"Yes, yes, yes, I got your back. But don't think this means I'm going to burn bridges with my friends just because you have a little problem. I'll help you with it, but I'm not taking care of it for you," Mido informed.

Link nodded in agreement. He didn't really need help after all though. It was a crush. Just a little crush that would go away after a while.

But what about lunch? Things between him and Zelda were going to be awkward now. God, it was only Thursday, the first week of school, and he was already having some shit going on. This was bound to be a looong year.

At lunch, Link noticed that Serj had finally shown up. As he was walking over to them, Link could see a look of utter fury on his face. Did… did he already know about the whole thing with Zelda? Wait, no way he could. Zelda didn't even like him like that.

"Where the hell were you at?" Kafei demanded with a slight frown.

"Zelda decided to take her sweet little fucking time with her shower," Serj growled.

Link felt a relief wash over him. This was getting ridiculous, really. However, he couldn't help but notice that his eyes wandered over to the table that she sat at as he stood in line for lunch. She looked very pretty today, he thought.

Even though it was still raining outside, she wore a tight, light blue shirt and a high cut jean skirt. Link rolled his eyes and felt like poking his eyes out. If he kept this shit up, Serj would notice eventually.

"Did I miss anything of interest in our classes?" Serj asked as he paid for his food.

"Not really. We had a free day in first period, and I didn't really even pay attention in Physics anyways," Kafei answered in a cool tone.

"I think you've got bigger problems then that," Mido announced as he pointed off into the cafeteria.

The other three looked out to where Mido had his gaze fixed. Sure enough, there would be trouble coming soon. Ganon had found his way to Zelda's table along with a couple of other football buddies of his. Serj rolled his eyes and fixed an angry glare on Ganon.

"Guy doesn't take a hint, does he?" Serj sighed and began to walk over to Ganon.

Mido and Kafei looked at each other before following him. They knew Serj would need a little more help this time. Link didn't know whether to follow or do his own thing.

He simply shook his head and headed over to the table they always sat at. None of them were stupid enough to start an a huge brawl in the middle of the school. He knew this for a fact; if the parents got wind of it, there wouldn't be anymore band for a while.

"You deaf?" Serj snarled as he walked up to Ganon.

Ganon glared at him and turned to face him.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know she had to be at your beck and call," Ganon shot back as his brute squad crossed their arms in a tough fashion.

"She sure as hell isn't at yours," Serj retorted in a menacing tone.

"Just trying to give your sister a good time," Ganon smirked with a very evil grin.

"Look man, I told you once, and it won't be much longer before I take action. Stay away from my sister. She doesn't like you, and neither do I. If I have to talk to you about this again, you'll regret it," Serj threatened.

"Alright then tough guy," Ganon laughed and shoved his way past Serj and his two pals.

Ganon and his two other companions laughed as they left the cafeteria. Serj glared at the three of them the whole way. He hated that guy with an absolute passion…

"Zelda, what exactly did he say to you?" Serj asked.

Zelda was staring across the cafeteria. She hadn't even realized just how fixed her eyes were on Link's back. Luckily, her brother didn't even notice she was looking at him

"Zelda?"

"Sorry, what were you saying?" she asked and whipped her eyes up to her brother.

"Um, he wasn't bugging you too much, was he?" Serj asked with a frown.

"The usual, just trying to get with me after school," she replied shortly.

Serj simply nodded and headed over to the table that Link sat at. Zelda began to feel like a total idiot. She was making this whole thing so obvious. There was no way in hell she could have Link. That much was obvious. She just had to forget about it and move on. Find some other guy, yes, that would do fine.

"Where were you cool guy?" Mido inquired as they took their seats around Link.

"Eh, you looked like you guys had it under control," Link joked.

"Yeah, no thanks to you," Serj shot at him as he bit down on his rock-hard biscuit.

"What are you all worked up about?" Link contorted with a frown.

"Look guys, I'm going to need your help. This Ganon guy isn't going to let up, he's made that obvious. I have the feeling this won't be the last time I have to put up with his shit," Serj stated.

They all knew he was right. Link had known Ganon a while. He never really had much to do with him, but growing up with the guy since junior high school, well, they'd met. The few times he had crossed with Ganon were not at all pleasant, though Link didn't like to think about it.

Link would never tell anyone save Mido this, but he didn't help them out cause he didn't want to make it at all obvious he had a crush on Zelda. This was stupid middle school shit! Link hated himself for this. "Grow the hell up," he thought to himself.

After school, Link headed home with thoughts spinning in his head. Football season was starting very early for some reason this year. The first game was tomorrow night. Ah, yes, Friday night. Link was no football player, but he loved to go to the high school games.

It was just the great feeling. Tossing back a few Dr. Peppers, the blasting sounds of the band, smells of hot dogs fluttering through the air, and just kicking back and chilling with his friends. Zelda was sure to go with Serj or Malon.

Though Link didn't normally pay much attention to these certain things, he had gathered from Serj that Zelda was going to a party after the game at Malon's place. Man! What was it going to take to get over this! Of all things to add on top of it, Ganon was the quarterback. There was sure to be trouble Friday night.


	9. Chapter 9

Here's yet another chapter from ole Geddy for you. I'm liking the reveiws I'm getting, whether critical or not. I won't say which one pissed me off, lol. I received one comment that said that this fic was too much like some other ones. I have to say that I will agree with that one. It's very hard to make a new type of highschool drama with The Legend of Zelda in the modern word; just about everything has been done, so I tried to do a few new things. Take Link for example... I have yet to see a fic where he's a guitar player. I'm not saying it doesn't exist, but hey, I haven't seen it. I tried to throw in some new characters too, but hey, I'm barely even starting this fic. I hope enjoy the many more chapters to came. Thanx alot guys, and enjoy the show.

Geddy

Chapter 9

The climate hadn't really changed too much over the past few days. Rain still lingered behind like the trailing edge of winter's chill. The air had thickened even more and cold wind shattered bones with its almost sheer icy frost. Nevertheless, it was football night. It was Friday night.

Link was as usual, bored in Physics. He was at least happy that some things never changed. It was hard to even fake being interested in this class. It was just the such the typical boring class it wasn't even funny.

Link began to wonder whether or not he was in one of those dumb high school movies. The teacher stood in front of the chalk board speaking in a monotone voice with a look on his face that showed that he was just as jaded as his students.

Scratching the side of his head, Link began to scribble down notes. When I say notes, I mean the kind of notes you would find on TABS or Sheet Music. He had not desire to take down what the teacher was saying.

He smiled a bit as a great idea for a new guitar riff splashed through his brain. He now looked very intense and interested, and the teacher picked up on this. Though Link hadn't meant to, and could have cared less, the teacher's spirit seemed to soar.

The chubby man became more jovial and excited at Link's enthusiasm. For some strange reason, this actually made all of the students interested. Link hadn't noticed this, for he was still writing down new ideas to take home and play.

The students bolted out of their seats when the bell rang nonetheless, but Link didn't move. For that fact, he hadn't even noticed he was the only one that hadn't left the room. The teacher took this as a complement.

"Link, it's good to see that you're so interested in my class," the teacher beamed at him.

"Oh, uh, sure…" Link stuttered as he stood up.

Finding this to be a rather awkward moment, he quickly hurried out of the room for lunch. Not knowing what the hell that guy was talking about, he shoved the piece of paper into his pocket. He couldn't wait to show Serj was he was cooking up on his guitar.

The other three members of his band were already in the line when he entered the cafeteria. A small grin on his face, he made his way over to them and fidgeted around I his pocket for the new idea. Mido eyed him strangely.

"Play with yourself in the bathroom Link, seriously," Mido alleged as he noticed Link's moving hand.

"You're sick man. Here, check this out," he said as he handed Serj the crumpled paper.

"Nice," he replied simply after viewing it briefly.

"That's it?" Link stuttered, almost flustered.

"Sorry, kind of pre-occupied," he apologized with a nod.

Link looked over in the direction Serj had gestured to see Ganon yet again. This time, he was sitting at a table with about seven more of his football buddies making rather rude gestures at Zelda. Sexual gestures, so be exact.

"You know, that's just the way San Demas is, dude," Kafei stated.

"So? That doesn't give him a right to let my 17 year old sister know non-verbally that he wants to go down on her!" Serj said loudly.

Link rolled his eyes and threw his hoody over his head as people stared in their direction. He kind of agreed with Kafei; Ganon was a shit head yes, but Serj was overreacting.

Lunch rolled by a little faster than they would have liked, and it was back to their classes. Most of the teachers at San Demas were known for just giving their students free days on Fridays, since just about every single one of the students were to worked up about the later game.

The rain had stopped about an hour before the game, leaving the seats wet and the night air freezing. Still, the bleachers were packed. Blankets covered the seats in order to keep the people's bottoms dry, and everyone was wearing thick clothes.

Link wore his usual jeans, a long sleeve Fender shirt with his Avenged Sevenfold hoody over it, and a black beanie. Funnily enough, he had gotten popular off football games. He was known for his Halloween Carols at the football games.

He would bring his acoustic guitar and put Halloween lyrics to his favorite songs. Whether it was Halloween or not, all the students enjoyed listening to the ridiculous lyrics. One of them went something like this:

Well, she said it's cold outside, I said it's October

When we get to the party, she sees someone else dressed like Janet McCartney

And she says "baby"

I thought I'd be the only one here

And she says "baby"

Let's have a drink and the leave I mean

Oooooooh

I'm pissed, can't believe someone else wore the same costume

Zelda got a rather good laugh at this, as well as Serj. Mido and Kafei laughed, but found it less amusing considering the fact that it wasn't the first time they had heard that. Link had several more, but I'm far too lazy to write them all out for you, sorry.

The game kicked off and as was predictable, San Demas High was top notch. San Demas was known for having the best football team in the district for the past ten years, and Coach Patterson was going to be damned if that ever changed on his watch.

San Demas won by a landslide: 63-10. As the visitor team walked off the field with their heads hung low, the guys of San Demas headed into the lockers in triumph. They all received pats on the back and quick handshakes as they walked past the bleachers where there fellow classmates sat.

Link stuck behind for a little while, since Mido and Kafei were busy discussing with Serj the whole new idea Link had come up with in second period earlier. Zelda had headed to the parking lot with Malon to leave for the party over at her house. Link began to get bored with his three band mates, who seemed to be discussing the exact thing he had been trying to tell them in the first place.

He crept off and headed for his car, leaving the three of them pondering the new idea. "Well, at least they like it," he thought to himself. His car was parked on the far side of the lot where not many other people went. Link was no huge car freak, but he sure as hell didn't want some idiot scratching it up.

Link frowned upon taking notice of Ganon in the parking lot with 5 of his pals. He could have cared less personally. They weren't bugging him at all, and he hated even looking at them anyways, much less talking to them. However, he hadn't noticed before that Zelda and Malon were caught in the middle of them. Sighing heavily, he knew that this was bound to happen.

He quickly looked around to see if his band mates were close by, but he couldn't see them anywhere. It looked as though it was going to be up to him to take care of it. Mustering up all the courage he had, he quickly stepped up to Ganon's backside just before the menacing football jock put his hand on Zelda.

"What do you think you're doing?" Link demanded in his most menacing tone.

"Oh, look who's come to join the show!" Ganon stated as he turned and faced Link; his brute squad giving Link very amused looks.

"Man, you really don't take a hint do you?"

"Look Link, you and I have had our differences, right? Let's put those to rest and you just walk away. This has nothing to do with you," Ganon growled before turning back to Zelda.

"Don't do it," Link threatened.

Ganon just laughed at him. Link knew he wasn't going to win this fight, but he had to try at least. Wrapping his arm around Ganon's neck, he forcefully hurled the brute into a nearby car. Bracing himself, he stood his ground as the other 5 jocks rushed him.

He was able to fight them for a little while, getting in a few solid punches here and there, but after a while he found himself being pummeled to a pulp. In a fit of rage, he flung two of them off of him and tackled the one closest him. With his immense strength, he lifted the jock into the air and tossed him into a nearby car, shattering the windshield. Suddenly an arm wrapped around his neck.

He knew he was finished this time, but suddenly the death grasp was lifted off him. He turned to see that Serj, Mido, and Kafei had arrived on the scene. Serj shoved the bully down onto the gravel and kicked his side. It wasn't long before the four of them managed to force the six football players to retreat to their cars.

Link's three friends hadn't suffered too many hits, but Link sure as hell had. He didn't have time to think about pain however, as a few police officers showed up. All of them quickly jumped into their cars and tore off before the police could even say a word.

Link didn't care where he was going; he was just following Serj. Kafei and Mido were behind him, while Malon and Zelda brought up the rear. As he drove off into the night, he began to notice how much pain he was in. The things he did for that girl…


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

"They really did a number on you, you know that?" Malon told as she cleaned off Link's face.

"Really? I had no idea," he retorted in a mordant pitch.

She was right, all the same though. Blood was running out of his nose and a fresh cut on the upper left of his forehead. His eye was beginning to turn blue, promising a spanking new black eye the next day. He was bruised up pretty bad on his chest and back as well, though he wasn't about to let Malon touch that.

"Good lord, they got you pretty good," she said.

"How many more times are you going to say that?" Link grunted.

"Do you want my help or not?" Malon shot back.

"Yes, yes, yes…"

Malon was really the only one that had the slightest clue about any of that medical stuff. She was taking a nursing class in school and new how to do basic operations: like stitching up Link's forehead for example. He winced a bit as she tugged on the thread.

"Quit being a big baby," Malon demanded as she took the needle and looped it through Link's skin again.

"Hey, you're going dry you know! You try having a needle shoved into your head without anything to numb the pain."

"Ok, sorry, sheesh…"

"Thanks for sticking up for Zelda back there man," Serj thanked as he entered the bathroom as well.

"Yeah…"

Mido entered not long after to see what Link was up to. Red marks and bruises lined his face. Though it was rather horrible to think this, Mido found the sight rather funny.

"Damn dude, you look like shit," he greeted with a hint of laughter.

"Thanks Mido, way to be supportive."

Zelda soon turned the corner as well. Link rolled his eyes as the bathroom became ridiculously cramped. They all seemed to just stare at his bruised up face as though they were watching a TV show or something.

"You doing alright Link?" sounded Kafei's voice from down the hall.

"Yes, come on in, we'd love for you to join us!" he shouted in the most sarcastic tone he could come up with.

He was glad Malon was almost done; he was beginning to feel rather Closter phobic. It was already after 10 before Malon had finished, and needless to say, there wasn't going to be any party. Link didn't particularly care, but he did feel a little bad about the whole thing. But hey, that's what happens when you get the crap beat out of you for sticking up for your friend's, eh?

Link had no desire to be around anyone after being put to shame and nearly squashed to death in the bathroom. Sore as hell, he entered one of the extra rooms Serj had shown him and threw himself down on the bed.

It appeared as though nobody was leaving that night. Mido and Kafei got their own rooms, while Malon just slept in Zelda's room. It sure was nice having a house better than the white house.

Link could hear all of them having fun and watching movies until after one in the morning. He could have cared less, but they were keeping him awake, which he didn't take too kindly too. On the other hand, he couldn't sleep anyways for some reason. He constantly found his mind spinning about with so many different subjects. "God I wish I had my guitar…" he thought.

After tossing and turning for hours on end, he finally got frustrated and sat up and looked at the clock. Three in the morning… Running his hair through his thick hair, he put on his white A-shirt that was buried under his long sleeve shirt on the floor and pulled it on.

Smirking to himself a bit, he limped to the doorway and opened it very quietly. The last thing he needed was to wake anyone, especially Malon, for she would just shove him back onto the bed and order him to go to sleep.

"She's a good friend though," he thought to himself as he walked down the stairs.

He frowned a bit when he noticed that someone had left the TV on. The light flickered in the pitch black mansion, casting eerie shadows around the living room area. However when he had finally made his way down the stairs, he noticed that someone was sitting on the far side of the couch in front of it.

"What are you doing up?" he asked after flipping the light on.

"Can't sleep… What are **you** doing up?" Zelda shot back.

"Haven't slept at all," he replied as he sat down on the opposite side of the couch.

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"You don't have to apologize for everything you know," he stated, fixing his gaze on the TV.

"Sorry… Oh, sorry, I mean, damn it…"

Link laughed at her. She was glad that he wasn't looking at her, as she blushed a fluorescent red color. "Stupid!" she thought to herself and thought about smashing her face in.

"Although, I am sorry about Malon's party," Link told her, his eyes not moving from the music video of "Beast and the Harlot".

"Oh, s'ok. I'm glad that we were able to just hang out here too. Mido and Kafei are pretty cool," she began in conversation.

"Yeah, yeah they are."

"How long have you known them?" she inquired.

"Oh, jeez… Um… Kafei for about five years, and Mido about my whole life," Link recanted.

"Wow, that's quite a long time."

"Yeah, it is. They're good guys, they've really helped me through a lot," he told her as he watched Sinister Gates begin his guitar solo.

"I bet…"

"Well, pretty screwed up first week of school, eh?"

"You kidding? I've never had this much crap happen in one week!" Zelda exclaimed.

"Ha, yeah, but it's not that bad now, is it?"

"No, not since I met Malon," she replied.

"See, there you go."

The music video was almost over. Link didn't really find this situation as awkward as Zelda did. She was afraid she was about to do something stupid. Something really stupid.

"Would you like something to drink?" she recovered, standing up from the couch.

"Oh, no thanks."

"Link."

"Fine, get me whatever," he mumbled audibly.

Zelda walked passed him and into the kitchen. Link watched her the whole way. She wore a short pair of gray cloth shorts and a pink tank top. Shaking the thought from his head, he smacked his temple and glared down at the TV.

"You idiot, what are you doing? You're checking out your best friend's little sis! Get over it already, really!" he thought in a fit of guilt.

"You coming in here or not you gimp?" he heard Zelda's voice call from the kitchen.

Rolling his eyes, he limped away from the couch and to the kitchen. He became a little irritated when he saw that the kitchen was almost the size of his apartment. God, it has to be unhealthy to be that rich.

"Man, your parents must make a lot of money," he said, looking around the kitchen.

"Well, my dad does now. We didn't have anything until recently," she replied as she set a kettle on the stove to boil.

"He must have gotten a good job here," Link stated as he sat down on a tall stool that sat in front of the kitchen island.

"Oil rigs pay a lot of money these days. He makes fifty dollars an hour and another hundred a day just for showing up. It's a huge change really…"

"Wow, that is a lot… What do you mean by that? How was it such a big change?"

"Back in Florida, we were so poor we could only afford to heat one room. Serj had to work his butt off so he could help pay for bills and food. Ha, he would always go down to the music store and use their amps instead of his. He didn't want to use any more electricity than he had to!"

"Oh, he never told me about any of that. That really had to be tough," Link continued, a little concerned.

"It was hard because mom was dead. She passed when I was six, but I never really knew her that well, so it didn't hurt me all that much as stupid as it sounds. She was at work all the time, sometimes for two weeks straight. It hit dad pretty hard though. That's when things went down hill…"

"Serj never told me... I'm sorry to hear that," Link said, a little puzzled as to why Serj never told him.

"You don't have to apologize for everything you know," Zelda smarted off and received a frown. "Well, Serj doesn't really talk about an personal issues much. He's always been like that, real distant. I know he cares about his family, but he really doesn't show it all the time. Dad's always gone, so he really takes care of me," Zelda explained as she pulled the kettle from the stove.

"Yeah, I can understand why…"

"So what about you? Serj told me you guys haven't had a gig in two months, and you don't have a job… so… how is it that you still manage to keep paying for stuff?" Zelda interrogated as she poured the scalding water into two mugs.

"Well, when my parents died, I was left everything, including their bank accounts, the house, the black Camaro that's parked outside your house… everything."

"Oh, I see…"

"With a little help from my grandparents, I sold the house, put the money from it in my bank account, and put all of their things into storage. I couldn't even bear to look at their things… I haven't seen any of it in three years now…"

"You know Link, you're the reason that things have gotten better for me here," she said randomly, mixing up the powdered cocoa in the mugs.

"Ha, what do you mean?"

"When I found out about your parents and your little brother, it really made me realize just how selfish I was being, you know? I guess I had a bit of a revelation…"

"Thank you?"

"Ha, sorry, I just thought I should tell you that. So, how exactly did you get so good at the guitar? I mean, you're the best in San Demas without a doubt!" Zelda complimented as she set the hot cocoa in front of him and took a seat next to him at the island.

"Hmmm, long story…"

"I've got nothing better to do," she stated in a bit of a smug tone.

"Well, you see, playing guitar was in my family's history. Grandfather played, his father played it, my father, his uncle, my three cousins… so I kind of had to. I, I only played because my old man wanted me too. I knew the basics at best. I could play some stuff from the Police, and other real easy bands. I never, I never really tried to get good. But there was this one song that my little brother just loved… He begged me to play it, but I wasn't nearly good enough to play that one," he elucidated.

"What song was it?" Zelda pressed.

"It was from one of my favorite guitar players, Joe Satriani: Always With Me, Always With You. Gorgeous instrumental it is. I starting learning how to play it, but I never could get it. It was far too difficult for me at the time. But, but after my little brother died, I, I… I never felt worse in my life. I felt as though I had failed him in a way. He's gone now and I'll never be able to play that song for him…"

"Oh my god, Link… You can't blame yourself for that. Don't be so hard on yourself," Zelda comforted and put her hand on top of his.

"Well, that's how I got to be so good. I played my heart out, took three guitar lessons a day from three different teachers, and I did it all for my old man and my brother. It was like my way of putting their souls at peace I guess. And hey, I ended up enjoying it along the way!" Link finished.

"Did you ever learn how to play that song?"

"Ha, no. Never really had the heart to even listen to it again. Haven't heard it since it happened."

"I really think you should learn it," Zelda prodded.

"Why?"

"You're brother may not be alive in flesh and blood, but he's still in your heart and he'll always be with you. I think it would really put him to rest if you played it for him," she explained.

"You think so?"

"I know so. Not to mention, I'd love to hear you play it sometime," she said with a smile.

Link smiled back at her. Maybe she was right. It would be a disservice to not play that, wouldn't it? The boy would have died in vain if Link didn't learn the song…

Zelda stood up patted his back softly. With one last smile, she turned and began to head out of the kitchen again. Link turned in his seat.

"Zelda."

"Yeah?" she answered and turned around.

"Thank you," he expressed, stepping up close to her.

Zelda smiled and nodded to him to acknowledge his gratitude. He seemed to close in on her like a wave of water. Before she knew it, he was standing right in front of her.

Link felt like he was melting as the beauty gazed up at him; her emerald green eyes so innocent. He couldn't hold himself back anymore. The war inside his head had raged for far too long now.

He leaned forward and slid his lips onto Zelda's. She was surprised at first, but recovered and kissed back, her soft lips massaging his own. Link's tongue traced her lips as though asking for permission. Her mouth opened a bit and he slid his tongue in, rubbing hers all the while.

Link had kissed a million girls before, but nothing like this. There was so much passion in the whole moment and feeling, and Link couldn't help but be absorbed by it. He pulled Zelda's body into his chest and embraced her as the intensity built.

"Who left all the lights on?"

Link snapped away from Zelda and jumped back into his seat and began to quickly gulp the burning hot cocoa. Zelda's eyes widened and she turned the corner of the kitchen and entered the living room. Serj was coming down the steps.

"Oh. What are you doing up?" he asked groggily.

"Couldn't sleep. I was just in here talking to Link," she said without even realizing it.

"Link?"

Link rolled his eyes at her utter stupidity and could hear Serj making his way down the steps and onto the threshold. He held his position and just continued to slurp his drink. Serj turned the corner and frowned a bit.

"What the hell man? You should be in bed with how beat up you are," Serj scolded.

"Can't sleep," he shot back.

"You're lucky it's the weekend you know," Serj grunted with a roll of his eyes.

Link felt a wave of relief wash over him as his friend turned and left the kitchen. Zelda had sat back down on the couch watching TV, acting as natural as she could. Serj slowly trudged back up the stairs and up to his room. As soon as the door shut, Zelda jumped up from the couch and whirled around the kitchen corner.

"Hot?" she asked.

"Can't feel my tongue," he exasperated, his blood boiling at ridiculous heat temps.

He set the mug down and hurried past Zelda, who gave him a very sweet look. With one last smile, Link headed back up the stairs and to his own room. When he shut the door, Zelda twirled around with a huge smile on her face.

"Damn, that felt good…" she thought.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Monday crept around quickly to dawn a new week of school. The rain had finally dried up and the sun shone bright, changing the entire atmosphere of San Demas.

Link made his way up to the school with the other students. They all seemed very disappointed with the fact that the weekend was over, and Link couldn't exactly blame them. He himself would have rather not been there.

"You did what?" Mido exasperated in first period.

"Oh come off it Mido, it's not that big a deal," Link retorted, assuring himself more than Mido.

"You made out with your best friend's sister… I think that calls for a little concern."

"I guess. Do you suppose it would be dangerous to think about the idea of dating her?" Link asked in confidence.

"Well Link, when you shoved your tongue down her throat, I think you already threw caution to the wind," Mido smarted off.

Link rolled his eyes and glared at Mido. He wasn't sure what to do, and the way he had been feeling lately, he didn't even care. For some reason, getting the crap kicked out of him seemed to have knocked some sense out of him as well. He knew that in the messed up situation he was in, he should be shitting his pants, but he really didn't care.

The first two classes blew by slowly as usual to bring lunch around again. **Then**, Link started to worry. He had to be with Zelda and Serj in the same room now. Facing Zelda seemed to be a lot more difficult for him than Serj though.

"Just act like nothing happened dude," Mido advised.

"What? Was that advice I just heard? Not a smartass comment? Wow Mido, you must be really getting into this," Link snapped.

"Do you want my help or not?"

"I want your help, yes, but I don't really want you stating the obvious," Link said icily.

Mido's eyebrows furled a bit. Link ignored him and just stood in the lunch line with his arms crossed over his tight black Steve Vai shirt. Mido noticed that Link seemed to recover very quickly, as the stitch on his head was no longer whelping red and his black eye was nearly gone.

"Hey guys."

Link and Mido turned to see Serj, who looked as though he had just been hit by a metaphorical truck. His eyes were a little worn and his face was dark and dismal. Link laughed to himself inside his head.

"What's up?" Serj asked when he noticed that neither Mido nor Link hadn't replied.

"The usual," Link replied quickly and shortly.

"No, really, what's going on? Is there something wrong?"

"Why no, not at all. It's not like any of us made out with your sister or anything," Mido stated and received a very cold glare from Link.

"Is there something I don't know about?" Serj interrogated, his eyes narrowing a bit.

"No, there's really nothing. What about you? You look like you're warn out man," Link recovered in a subject change.

"Don't worry about it, I'm fine."

Link frowned a little at Serj's disposition. When he noticed Zelda turn the corner with Malon, she seemed to have the some disposition. He quickly turned to avoid eye contact with her though. He bit his lip a bit when she started to head over there.

"Hey guys… hey Link," she greeted.

"Hi," Link replied as naturally as possible.

He wasted no time in grabbing his crappy food from the cafeteria and headed for his table. He hated being that eager to get away from Zelda, but it was rather awkward with Serj around. But what had happened to the two of them? It looked as though something had happened. Something bad…

Not wanting to press the matters though, Link sat down at his table and slumped down into the seat. He was worn out already, and it was barely the second week of school! God would this be a year.

Though Kafei, Mido, and Serj chattered as usual, Link couldn't hear them. His mind was swimming with thoughts already about the whole situation with Zelda and new ideas on his guitar. It seemed that the musical dreams overshadowed those of his dilemma with Serj, which he was rather happy about.

School seemed to wiz by with Link's mid flowing constantly. By the end of the day, he had about four pages in his binder filled with assorted music crap he was eager to test out. They were scheduled for a gig in just over 2 weeks, and Link wanted a little something fresh for their loyal fans. Having a new member in the band and all, he thought it would be pretty cool to release a fresh new song.

Link grinned to himself as he pulled open the back door of his Camaro. He quickly shut the door after tossing his backpack into the seat and opened the door to the driver's seat. He was rather surprised when he looked up to see Zelda though.

"Oh, aren't you going home with Serj?" he asked in alarm.

"Naa, Malon is going to take me over to her house," Zelda replied.

"Oh, I see…"

"Look, Link… I realize we should probably talk about what happened the other night," she began.

"Yeah, sure," Link replied, even though he really didn't want to talk about it.

"I understand if you can't… you know… be with me, with my brother and all. But still in the end, I kind of do have a bit of a thing for you. So, the door's always open, but I can understand if you don't want to," she explained in her little innocent voice.

Link smiled warmly at her. She was pretty cute after all, and the scent that loomed around her was rather intoxicating. He leaned forward a bit and lightly kissed her.

"We'll just see how things play out," he stated before getting into his car and driving off.

Zelda watched him as he drove off down the road with a faint smile on her face. She then turned, her wavy golden hairy shimmering in the warm summer light. Malon sat in her car waiting for Zelda, a little irritated for that fact. She gave Zelda a rather flustered frown when she entered the passenger side.

"Were you ever planning on telling me about Link?" the red head interrogated.

"What are you talking about?" Zelda lied.

"Do you think I'm blind!"

"Oh… you saw us?"

"YES! What the hell Zelda? That's your brother's best friend," Malon grieved in her frantic little tone.

"Well hey, I can't help the fact that I have feeling's for him!" Zelda retorted.

"Does he have feelings for you?"

"I, I think so…"

"Girlfriend, I'll support you as much as possible, but you know… if you don't even know how he feels about you, don't you think that this is stupid junior high crap? Seriously Zelda, you need to take this whole thing a little more seriously. This is a big thing," Malon finished.

Zelda knew the girl was right. This could really screw some things up, and bad at that. And was Malon right? Was Link just using her? No, he couldn't be. They were just silly thoughts of a silly girl.

Zelda smiled when Malon turned on the radio; the Beast and the Harlot flowed from the speakers. Her reminded her of Link….

The guitar strings warped and screamed emotions as Link bent and flicked his way about the fret board. His new ideas were coming together nicely, much better than he had first expected. He had already been playing for two hours before he even realized what time it was.

"Shit!" he muttered to himself and grabbed his shoes.

Quickly stuffing his guitar into its case and slipping on his black leather jacket, he charged out the door and dashed down the stairs to his car. He was supposed to be at the warehouse to practice as it was already! Cursing and mumbling under his breath, he peeled out of the parking lot down the long stretch of paved road.

Meanwhile, the band waited for him patiently. Mido rubbed his chin lightly in thought. "I need to shave…" Serj and Kafei were messing around with their instruments with the volume all the way down so that they could only hear themselves.

"Is he ever late?" Serj asked suddenly.

"Sometimes. The only reason he's ever late is because he's actually doing something important and the time slips from him though. He doesn't fiddle fuck around like some people," Kafei explained with a quick flare at Mido.

"Hey man! I hadn't been laid in three months… Three months!" Mido retorted in an attempt to make an excuse for being over an hour late one time.

The door to the warehouse opened and in brought Link, his guitar and a mound of jumbled papers in his hands.

"Sorry I'm late guys. Lost track of the time while I was working on some new riffs."

Kafei shot Serj the old I-told-you-so look while Link sat the guitar case down on a nearby chair. Quickly popping the top off the case, he pulled out the metallic copper beauty from its resting place and threw the strap over his shoulder.

After plugging his git-fiddle into the P.A. system and the effects box, he excitedly began to show the other three guys what he had been coming up with over the past few hours. Mido and Kafei were thrilled, but Serj seemed a little stand-offish and almost confused.

Mido and Kafei quickly fit into a good bass and drum part in order to support Link's guitar, but again Serj seemed uninterested. He began to follow what Link was doing however after he was shot a few angry frowns.

The three laid down a solid groove for Link to begin building his solo off of. Link was finding it a little difficult to drop a solid lead on top of what the other three were doing however. Serj had no life to him. The music was dead. Link picked up on this and stopped, causing the other three to lose the riff.

"Is there something going on with you Serj? You've been out of it all day and even your guitar playing is lifeless. What's up?" Link questioned.

"Look guys, I'm sorry. Today marks the day my mom passed away. I know I never told you but she was killed a few years ago in an accident. I don't think I can do this tonight," Serj explained, a hint of sorrow in his eyes.

Link nodded. Zelda had told him all about it already, but Mido and Kafei were shocked. Link called it a night and packed up his gear to head home. The only reason he was irritated was because he rarely came up with music THAT good. It was the best he had ever conjured in his mind.

But on the other hand, he knew how hard that Serj had to be taking the blow. Link didn't always feel wonderful when the day of his family's death would creep around the corner. In the end, he himself had a lot to think about as well, with the whole Zelda issue.

Should he just come right out and tell Serj? No, that would be stupid at best. He would need to see how Serj would react to it first. Manipulate him in a way… These thoughts spinning in his head, he departed from the band and headed home as the sun set down. Smiling, he put Always With Me, Always With You in his CD player.


	12. Chapter 12

Yet another chapter for you guys. Chapter 13 will be up after not too much longer, so don't get all weepy eyed on me. As always, I appreciate the reveiws I am receiving. I would especially like to point out Super Davis. When he first commented on my fic, it was rather harsh, and, well, pissed me off. Yet I decided that instead of getting defensive, I really dug into the minds of the characters more. Thank you for helping me to realize just how slow the whole thing was moving. I know that alot of you prolly thought the beginning was pretty boring, and I suppose to an extent, it was. I like to ease it in instead of throwing the plot at you in the blink of an eye. Makes it more interesting as it progresses I think. And sorry to Davis for my chapters not being long enough. I find a good stopping point and end it right there. Well, enuff mindless babble from me. This chapter things really spice up though it may not be clear at first. Well, enjoy guys, and as always, leave me reveiws. Thanx guys

Geddy

Chapter 12

"So what do you think of this one? Zelda? Zelda!" Malon shouted.

"Oh, what? Sorry," Zelda apologized as she snapped her head away from its dreamy daze.

"You're not even paying attention anymore, are you?"

"Sorry, I just keep spacing off for some reason," Zelda explained.

"You keep spacing off? Or is it that you can't get your mind of your boyfriend?" Malon retorted.

"He's not my boyfriend!" Zelda snarled.

"You wish."

Zelda glared at Malon.

"Truth hurts doesn't it Zelda?" Malon stated as she sat down on her bed.

Zelda rolled onto her back and stared up at the ceiling. Malon's room was painted light blue with a light pink border around the middle of the room. . Stuffed animals and pictures lied strewn about in neat bunches or on the dresser. It was a very neat space, as you could imagine with the prissiness of Malon around.

"Look, I'm not trying to harp on you. If this is what you want, then fine, I can live with that. I just don't think you've thought this through well enough, you know?" Malon explained in her soothing voice.

"Yeah, I know. It's kind of hard to think about everything when you're crazy about someone though," Zelda replied as she rolled back over and shoved her face into a nearby pillow.

"I know, I know. You look like you could use a break. Let's go out and get some ice cream," Malon suggested as she hopped up from the bed and grabbed Zelda's arms.

Being nearly dragged off the bed, Zelda stumbled and followed the red head out to her car. Zelda felt great when she was around Malon. Always full of spirit and life, no matter what the situation. Zelda just hoped she stayed that way.

Link himself was just now getting home from the "practice". He had never had such a pathetic practice, and he had been expecting it to be the best. He didn't blame Serj for feeling the way he did, but still. He had NEVER come up with licks and riffs that sweet before.

He shrugged it off nonetheless. There was nothing he could do about it, and it would give him some good time to really crack down and starting building a song out of it instead of it just being a rumbled gunk of chords. Grabbing a Pepsi and leftover pizza from the night before, he turned his stereo onto Rush's cover of "Heart Full of Soul".

As the chords from the stereo bounced off the walls soothingly, he opened up his newest "Guitar World" magazine. Avenged Sevenfold was featured this month.

"Big shock," he thought to himself.

They had seemed to be everywhere in the days of late. Link didn't complain; they were by far one of his favorite bands. Usually Link would have been very into what the rhythm guitar player, Zakky Vengeance, was saying… yet he found his mind wandering.

Strangely enough, he wasn't thinking of anything in particular. You would think that he would have been thinking about Zelda a lot, but the girl had hardly crossed his mind since he had kissed her earlier.

He had already begun to feel like she was his, as sad as it may sound. He was really beginning to wonder if he should just straight up talk to Serj about it. Then again, it would be a little stupid to walk up to your friend and say:

"Hey man. I know we've only known each other about three weeks… But your sister is pretty hot and I have a thing for her so I just wanted to let you know I'm going to get with her. Maybe take her virginity, maybe not. Well, thanks dude, I knew you'd understand!"

Link laughed at himself. Talking to Serj would be the definition of stupid he decided. Link knew the best thing to do was to let the whole thing slide and just see what happened. Picking up his guitar, he wailed away on it late into the night before going to bed.

"You just got to roll the bones dude," Mido told Link at lunch the next day.

"Ask him and see what happens? Are you crazy!" Link shouted under his breath (if that makes sense).

"Hey man, just my suggestion. Don't get your boxers in a bunch," Mido retorted as he examined the crappy excuse for food.

"Hell no dude. You're nuts. Watch this…"

Link and Mido sat down at the table with Kafei and Serj. Link was rather anxious to show Mido exactly why it was that he was unwilling to tell Serj.

"Hey Serj, I know this is random, but out of curiosity, what's it like to have a sister?" Link asked in a very relaxed and deceptive tone.

"Damn right that was random… Um, why? That's probably the stupidest question I've heard," Serj retorted.

"I mean like, how would you react if let's say I was to date your sister," Link asked, almost as though he was sneaking in for the kill.

"Why, you have plans on it?" Serj interrogated, his voice growing hot.

"Just wondering man, don't get all pissed about it."

"I wouldn't like it too much. Actually I'd be pretty pissed. Really though, why?" Serj questioned further, a dark gaze fixed on Link.

"Mido wants to go out with her," Link interjected.

Mido shot Link a very dirty glare. Though you would think that it would be very foolish of Link to do this, he knew Mido wouldn't rat him out. Mido was far too good of a friend.

"Yes, it's true. I have such a longing for your sister Serj. Saria isn't cutting it for me," Mido said sarcastically.

Fortunately, Mido's sarcasm and stupidity made Serj forget about the whole conversation. Link couldn't help but give Mido the I-told-you-so look every chance he got. Link had just confirmed his own suspicions, and though he felt good about proving Mido wrong, it didn't help the situation knowing that Serj would tear him limb from limb if he ever found out.

School flashed by again faster than Link had expected. As the weeks passed by and the weather began to chill out, literally, Link noticed that Zelda basically was his girlfriend. It sucked.

He left like he couldn't even be close to Zelda during school, and sadly, he was right. Serj was like a hawk when it came down to watching out for his little sister, and he had already made it clear that he would not at all be happy if one of his friend's were to do anything with her.

The occasional peck on the lips when no one was looking wasn't great, but it was better than nothing. It seemed to risky to even talk to each other now, seeing as Link had brought up the idea of friend's dating sisters, which was apparently a big, big no-no.

It was also far too risky to try and sneak off by their lonesome for even five minutes. They both had a thing for each other, that much was for sure. And that's all it was. Link felt like he was being forced to date this girl, even though he wasn't dating her at all.

The months passed on and on and the snow began to fall. It really didn't snow at all in San Demas; a very thin layer of white frost would cover the ground once in a blue moon, and that was as close as they were going to get

Link along with Prototype had exceptionally good connections along the east coast, surprisingly. A guy by the name of Dennis Jennings had seen one of their shows in San Demas and was, of no surprise, amazed.

Link had kept in contact with Dennis and ended up landing Prototype a gig in New York City, which was where Dennis was from. The trip luckily landed right in the center of Christmas break, which sent the band through the roof.

Link used a good chunk of money to do it, but he made an actual trip for the entire school to go. It cost several hundred dollars per person, but it was sure to be well worth it.

"Can you imagine it? Snow… SNOW!" Mido shouted at Serj's house.

"Yeah, they have snow. It's that white stuff that falls down from the sky in flakes. Good to see you know what it is though, Mido," Malon jabbed sarcastically.

It was eight o'clock now, the night before the trip. Dennis had arranged for a plane to actually take all of the band's gear for the show up there a week before, which lightened the load considerably. Dennis sure was a great guy to them.

"I've always wanted to go to N.Y.C. you know," Saria announced.

"Ok, seriously, how much longer is this cheap movie scene going to go on? If I wanted to hear corny cliché lines, I'd go buy some low budget horror movie," Serj growled to no one in particular.

Link smiled and chuckled at bit. Him and Serj were in the living room hammering away on their guitars. Link had been training him on doing a little lead guitar. Link loved to sing, but he was one of those guys that would rather just play his guitar than do both. Thus, he had worked very hard with Serj to take the lead vocals slot from him. Serj was more than happy to do the singing, and Link was glad he was able to let up a bit and drift off onto the lead guitar again.

Serj had learned a lot from Link already, and it was pretty obvious. Serj's speed with his left hand had improved a lot; though not quite up to the handle of hammer-ons and pull-offs Link had. Link felt a little satisfied with himself, for that fact. He began to think of giving guitar lessons strangely enough.

Zelda on the other hand was happy about the trip for one simple reason: There was a possibility that she would be able to spend some time with Link. Although… it would be pretty cold. There ended up being over two hundred students that were going, to Link's surprise. It was a good opportunity to see a new place, and see their hometown's best band perform in front of over ten thousand people!

Needless to say, Prototype was very hyped up about the whole thing. Not only were they playing in front of a huge crowd, but they were headlining! Not just opening as the cheap band that isn't good enough to headline, but were the only ones running the show. Well, when you're friends with a guy that did some work with Metallica and Pantera, what more can you expect?


	13. Chapter 13

Hey guys, sorry for the long update. Been busy with my band and the usual stuff. Well, here's the next chapter for you. Don't have much to say, except that you can enjoy it or go shove a book up your anus. Laterz guyz…

Geddy

Chapter 13

The students of San Demas just about packed the entire plane, which was of no surprise to Link. The girls chattered senselessly and would flash him very flirty looks that forced him to smile back. Zelda had caught eye of this and was rather jealous, but she was unable to make a scene because of her brother. After all, Link wasn't hers.

Link rolled his eyes and set a pair of headphones into his ears to kickback and listen to Tool for the first of the trip. It was only four in the morning and was still pitch black outside. He was extremely tired and worn out from all the work he had been doing not only for the band, but planning a trip for 200 people. Needless to say, that wasn't easy.

He felt himself drifting off to sleep as "Schism" began to play. The song soothed him as he leaned back in his seat and fell into a dreamy slumber. Thoughts of his musical career and friends danced along with the music in his worn brain. Zelda…

He awoke some four hours later to see that Serj, who had been sitting next to him when he fell asleep, had been replaced by Zelda. Link quickly sat up and rubbed his forehead a bit before pulling the headphones from his ears. Zelda smiled slightly at him.

"Hey. What are you doing over here?" Link asked.

"Well, if you must know… Serj took of with Mido into a different part of the plane. This is more like a bus ride with how disorganized the seating chart is," Zelda joked.

Link nodded a bit and looked out the window. All he could see was the sunny expanse of fluffy white clouds below him. Glancing at his watch, he realized that it was already 8 in the morning. They would be there in two hours, maybe even less than that. Link was happy he had slept through the most boring part of the trip.

"I'm glad you could come," Link said as he looked into her eyes.

She smiled a very cute, lopsided smile and looked back into his eyes. Link placed his hand on top of hers and lightly massaged her knuckle bones. His fingers were so callused and tough, yet his touch was so soft.

"Isn't that cute? You two planning your honeymoon while you're in the Big Apple?" Mido's voice sounded from the seat behind them

"Shove it Mido, and keep your voice down!" Link snarled.

"You told him!" Zelda angrily asked, glowering.

"It slipped," Link lied.

"Are you trying to make it that obvious?" Malon asked as she walked up to the edge of the seat.

"You told her!" Link echoed.

"It slipped!"

"Listen to this Malon, they're already fighting like they're married," Mido snickered.

Link turned and reached his hand over the seat. Mido attempted to duck in order to flee his friend's grasp, but Link still managed to snatch the back of his shirt and yank him back.

"Whoa, easy there Mr. Fondereli," Malon jabbed.

"Ok, you two can't tell anyone!" Link demanded, still holding onto Mido's bright orange shirt.

"Relax buddy, we aren't going to. Zelda's my best pal, I wouldn't do that to her," Malon assured.

"I'll consider considering not telling anybody if you let go of my shirt," Mido snuffed from the seat.

"Get a fashion sense," Link retorted as he shook his hand free of Mido's obscene shirt.

"Look guys, with us two helping you out, we might actually be able to figure out a way to get Serj to be cool with it," Malon began.

"Yes, that would be a great idea Malon. Throw lighter fluid on the raging fire, that ALWAYS helps to put it out," Mido shot back.

Zelda rolled her eyes and stood up from her seat. Giving Link an almost rude frown, she turned and strolled off out of sight. Link frowned at her sudden change in disposition.

"Great going you idiots. Your little elementary shit pissed her off," Link growled.

"Chill out girly mouth. She's Closter phobic," Malon assured.

Link ignored her and went back to listening to his music. Realizing that Tool was still in the player, he began to dig through his CD wallet for a new selection. "Images and Words" caught his eye from Dream Theater.

Grooving between Dream Theater and Rush the rest of the way, Link had a rather enjoyable plane ride. The classic "Hemispheres" from Rush was a straight 18 minute long song, which he always enjoyed.

Serj surfaced as the plane began to dive down into the New York City airspace. Giving Link a wry smile, he sat down next to his guitar mate and strapped the belt over his waist. Serj hated planes with a passion, but he wasn't about to drive for a week straight to reach New York. He had already had a long car ride once this year already.

The plane touched down within twenty minutes of the city being visible. The excited students piled out with their luggage in hand into the sun lit dome of the N.Y.C. Airport. Link slipped on his aviator sunglasses before exiting the plane. After all, he had to look "cool", right?

Link made sure that all of hotel arrangements had been processed and cleared before heading into the city. He didn't know anything about New York, but it didn't take a genius to figure out that walking was faster than using a vehicle. The traffic was murder after all.

It was a good mile walk or so before they came up to the hotel. Link knew they looked pretty funny as they made their way there. It wasn't every day you saw a group of 200 high school students all following each other.

Link went into the hotel lobby and made sure for a second time everything was ok before bringing everyone inside. They ended up having 75 rooms total, as everyone was rooming up as it was. Link knew that he would be roomed with Serj for sure, and whoever decided to find their way in.

As Link made his way up the stairs to room 307, his cell phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hey boy, what are you doing?"

"Oh, hey Dennis. We're just getting into the hotel," Link told his companion.

"Oh, ok. Well hey, did you want to come down and see the venue real fast?" Dennis asked in his thick Texas accent.

"Tomorrow man. I'm worn out from all of this shit," Link replied truthfully.

"Oh, I understand that all to well. Well, I'll stop by tomorrow and take you guys over there," Dennis assured.

"Alright, thanks Dennis."

"Mhm, bye."

Link laughed at the old man as he opened the door to his room. Dennis was such a simple guy it just wasn't even funny.

After setting his sunglasses down onto the nightstand next to one of the beds, he looked outside and realized something was wrong. How in the world could it be the middle of December and there be sunlight and no snow? Weird, eh?

He didn't really care at the moment however. He was so tired all he wanted to do was sleep. And with that, he flopped himself down on the bed and snoozed the day away.

He awoke later to a sharp bang on his door. Groggily, he slid his heavy body out of the bed and headed to the door, grumbling all the way. As he ran his right hand through his ruffled blonde hair, he slowly unlocked the door and pulled out it open.

"Oh, I didn't expect to see you," Link stated in surprise.

"Tired?" Zelda asked as she walked inside of the room.

"How'd you guess?" Link asked as he shut the door behind her.

When he turned he was met by Zelda's arms wrapped around his neck and her lips softly pressed against his. He closed his eyes and let his arms fall down to her waist and held her tight.

"I'm sorry. I just have really missed you lately," Zelda apologized as they broke from each other.

"I'm getting tired of telling you to stop apologizing for everything," he smirked.

He walked away from her and threw himself on the bed. Zelda had woken him up, that was for sure, but his body was still worn beyond belief. Just as Zelda began to walk over to him, the door lock clicked and in walked Serj along with Mido.

"Hey Link, we're going down to this drink place just down the street, you wanna go?" Serj invited, obviously not picking up on the fact that his sister was standing right next to him.

"Yeah, sure. I need to stretch my legs," Link stated and slipped his shoes on.

"What are you doing here Zelda?" Serj asked, just now picking up on the fact that his sister was right there.

"Bored," she replied.

Serj shrugged and left the room, but Mido wasn't stupid. He picked up on the awkward situation almost immediately. Once he was sure Serj was well out of ear shot, he turned and glared at Link.

"You two are the biggest idiots I have met in my life! Are you crazy?" Mido scolded.

"Don't look at me," Link defended as he stood up.

"It was me. I cam in here…" Zelda said meekly.

"Seriously you guys. Link, neither one of us want to find out how Serj will react if he finds out. You need to tell him before it gets too late," Mido advised.

"How many times are you going to tell me that Mido?" Link growled irritatingly.

"Until you tell him!"

With that Mido shoved the door open and stormed out of the room. Zelda looked up at Link and gave him the "I'm-sorry" look. Link kissed her forehead and headed out after Mido. He hated to admit it, but his drummer was right. It was only a matter of time before this whole thing blew up in his face.

"The weather is kind of screwy, isn't it?" Kafei asked as he looked out the window of the drink shop.

It was really nothing more than a tropical slush place, but it suited well for just chilling with your friends. Link kind of felt like one of those valley girls that would sit there on a hot summer day like you see in the movies. Although, he couldn't deny that his mango peach slush was the best he'd had.

"Yeah, I had thought there was going to be snow here," Mido said solemnly.

"You talked to Dennis yet Link?" Serj asked in change of the stupid subject at hand.

"Yeah. He wanted me to check out the venue today, but I just decided to do it tomorrow. Man, it's hard to believe we'll be playing in front of thousands of people in just a few days," Link fathomed.

"Indeed it is my friend. I got to hand it to you Link, if it weren't for you, I wouldn't have this," Serj thanked in a non-sappy kind of way.

"I do what I can," Link joked.

The four of them were very eager to get on stage. Though, as the band's manager, Link was pretty much doing all the work. Dennis was sure to have all of their stuff at the venue as it was, but he still had a lot of time to put into the project ahead of him. He intended on spending the next few days preparing the stage for the show.

Most bands would just get it all taken care of that day, but Link wanted everything to be perfect… and hey, it's not like he had anything better to do, right? Link called Dennis later than night and told him what time to be at the hotel to lead them to the stage.

He found it rather hard to sleep with all these thoughts running through his head. Three days… three days… His dream would come true. There were going to be so many recording managers and producers there it wouldn't even be funny! This was the show that needed to get their ticket to fame. But for Link, it wasn't fame… it was paying a debt he had to his family.

It seemed as though it took forever for the next day to roll around. Link restlessly tossed and turned about in the hard hotel bed until the day light dawned. He hadn't noticed before, but overnight it seemed as though the good Lord above dropped a white blanket over the city.

Link smiled as he looked out the window that morning to the sight of a snow coated New York. 'This is what N.Y.C. is supposed to look like,' Link thought.

He awoke Serj to get ready. They had agreed that they would just leave Mido and Kafei to sleep, since it was impossible to wake the two gangly guys anyways. Link and Serj bundled up in warm clothes for the trip to the venue.

Serj put on a pair of jeans and a long sleeve turtle neck with a black Old Navy hoody over it. He wore a pair of thick black snow boots and an Avenged Sevenfold hat backwards.

Link on the other hand has his usual torn faded jeans on, with a long sleeve shirt and a hoody to boot. He slipped on his usual Batman chucks and stretched his beanie over his unkempt blonde hair.

"Torn jeans? Are you insane?" Serj questioned before he opened the door of the hotel room.

"I live for danger," Link smirked as he followed Serj out to the lobby.

Dennis sat on a couch in the lobby looking as though he had just got done smoking a joint. Knowing Dennis, he probably just finished a dooby. Dennis had a big nose and real messy white and gray hair that was wet from him just showering. He wore a pair of jeans, a black Harley shirt, and a black leather jacket.

"Hey Dennis," Link greeted with his hand outstretched.

"Hey boy," Dennis accepted as he shook Link's hand raggedly.

With a few exchanged words, they followed Dennis out to the venue. Luckily, Dennis had a limo ready for them, so the didn't have to deal with walking in the cold. Link and Serj really began to feel important as they climbed into the car.

"Let's see what this place is made of," Link thought.


	14. Chapter 14

Yeah, I totally took forever to update this. Hopefully this is a good enough chapter to make up for all the time spent wasting this away. I stopped writing it for about three weeks, what with getting my old job back, the band being in a recording studio, and just taking care of other random things. So sorry for the MONTH long update. I wrote this in pretty much two days, so I really hope you enjoy. To those who care, my band is doing well right now, and if you would like to check us out, look at this:  That is my Myspace URL, so feel free to check it out and send me friend requests so I can keep in constant contact with my die hard readers, haha. Well, enjoy guys, I'll see you around.

Chapter 14

They arrived at the snow covered dome of the venue early that morning. It was cold enough outside that the chill seemed to creep its way through the glass of the windows and iced Link's spine. He could have cared less though. He was fired up enough that it would have taken a blizzard to slow him down.

He and Serj stepped out of the white blanketed limo and gazed upon the domed arena. Link stood for a minute, just taking in the entirety of the place that he would be playing soon. Link soon found his eyes locked with Serj's. The two of them felt gay, but they couldn't help but smile at each other.

They crunched through the thick layer of snow after Dennis to the front doors of the stadium. The stadium itself was utterly massive; it's dome stretching over fifty feet into the iced sky. It stretched about the length of a football field and had a white and gray paint on it. The gray covered the actual building, while the white paint coated the dome, though you couldn't really tell with all the snow.

Dennis heaved the large metal doors open and entered. Link felt a blast of warm air flow through his body as he followed. Realizing that it wouldn't take too much longer before he would be burning up, he pulled his hoody off and tossed it off to the side where a few members of the road crew sat smoking.

Link's breath was stolen from him when he looked out over the expanse of the venue. The seats stretched for what looked like miles to Link, and hundreds of lights were set up in each and every section of the area.

Link noticed that Dennis' crew was already bringing all the equipment onto the stage, even though they weren't even going to be playing for a few more days. Link chuckled a bit as he heard the song Crystal Planet being played through the already set up speaker systems.

"We already set up the P.A. system for you guys," Dennis informed as they made their way down the huge isle.

"Dennis, you do realize that we won't be playing for a few more days, right?" Serj smarted off.

"Well yeah, but you have to practice sometime, don't you?"

Serj nodded in agreement. Link had nothing to say. His dream was before his eyes finally. Well, not exactly, since there was no crowd.

Eventually, after a good walk, they found themselves heading into the backdoors that led to the dressing rooms and the stage. A backdrop had been prepared for them, which rather surprised Link.

It was rather simple for that fact; a silver sheet of with the word Prototype printed on it in sparkling purple with a bit of glitter to it. It was perfect; the lights would reflect of it very well Link had thought.

Dozens of crew members scampered about bringing in amps, setting up lights, and stretching endless cables across the stage. Link and Serj followed Dennis up the stairs in the backroom to the top of the stage. They were about ten or so feet above the floor where the seats were, giving Link a good view of the entire dome.

"Wow," Serj said simply as the two of them gazed out to the empty seats.

"Yeah, wow…"

"Hard to believe we're actually playing here, isn't it?" Serj stated.

"Yeah, it really is. This is it right here man, this is it," Link replied as he sat down at the edge of the stage, allowing his feet to dangle off.

"I still don't think that I've thanked you enough Link," Serj said as he sat down next to Link.

"Just shut up and play your guitar," Link replied nonchalantly.

Serj chuckled a bit. After sitting and just talking for a little while, the two boys got to work and began to help the crew with setting up. After about two hours, Mido and Kafei showed up, which surprised everyone to say the least.

Even though there was already over fifty people working on setting up, the four guys worked quickly and accurately to get everything set up. They four of them wanted things set up just right for their own comfort, which was rather understandable.

After going through a quick sound check, they were about ready to begin practicing. Dennis went through and plugged in his own feedback buster to kill all the feedback from Serj's vocals. It sure was cool that they were able to use all this stuff without paying a dime for it!

"Well, what do you want to start off with?" Mido asked as he sat down on the throne behind his drum set.

"Beast and the Harlot?" Link asked, but was more saying that they were doing it no matter what.

After all nodding in agreement, Mido readied his high-hat and with a quick four taps, they exploded into the song from Avenged Sevenfold they had played to many times.

Link was almost blown away by the massive sound that was generated. He grinned ear to ear just from the introduction of it, but when Mido's double bass kicks thundered through the stadium, Link knew that this was it.

The next few days went by rather quickly for Prototype, but it was a downer point for Zelda. She had been wanting to spend some time with Link finally, and it seemed as though she hadn't seem him for anymore than and hour the whole time. She knew he was very busy, but he could spare half an hour to at least have a cup of coffee with her, couldn't he?

"Cheer up, seriously. You know much Link loves his music and this is the greatest point of his life," Malon objected.

"I know I'm being selfish, but I really want to be with him for a little while," Zelda retorted, although she knew Malon was right.

"Chill out. After all of the show hype is over, he'll be back to normal. You that just as well as I do. Besides, we'll still have another week here in the big apple after the show. Don't be so paranoid, seriously…"

"Yeah."

Zelda was laying on her bed in the hotel room staring up at the ceiling as she always did back home. Malon on the other hand was in front of the mirror brushing on foundation.

They had decided to go out shopping around the city for the day, since Zelda only seemed to want to hang around the hotel room. New York after all was one of the best places in the world for shopping. And not to mention, Zelda needed some cute new clothes.

After Malon **finally** finished putting on her makeup, they headed out of the warm hotel into the blustery weather of the city. The snow seemed to swirl and dance with them as the laughed and talked their way down the streets.

While the two girls were busy picking up clothes, Link and the rest of the guys were busy with their fingers and wrists blazing away. The show was that night, and it seemed like one of the songs they wanted to get down they were actually having some difficulty getting down. It was called Feisty Cadavers, from John 5.

The song itself wasn't too hard for Link, but bouncing around using the pitch harmonics were a little difficult for him, since he hadn't really mastered them yet. Link eventually got so frustrated he just set his guitar down and walked off stage.

"Hey man, you alright?" Serj asked as he jogged after Link, who was making his way down one of the isles towards the door.

"I'm just getting irritated. If I have a smoke I'll be fine," Link replied as he pulled out his Turkish Silver Camel Cigarettes from his pocket.

"Hey man, you holding out on me or something? Give me one of those," Serj growled and extended his hand.

Link rolled his eyes and handed him one. After digging about in his pocket for a little while for a lighter, he lit his up and handed Serj the lighter. He didn't bother opening the door, for he knew that the cold wind would put the cigarette out.

"Really man, are you ok though?" Serj prodded as he forced a puff of white from his lungs.

"Yeah. Those pitch harmonics are just really getting to me," he said, but was only half truth-full.

He had begun to feel as though he was blowing Zelda off, and really, he was for that matter. He had been so busy that he had barely even seen her. It worried him a bit actually. He couldn't help but wonder if she would find some other guy because he was ignoring her.

"Don't let that get into the way of your playing," he thought to himself.

After a couple more hours of practice, they nailed every song they were doing perfectly. Realizing that the show was in just five hours, they set their instruments up where they needed to be with guitar techs and headed to get a bite to eat. Students would be arriving in just two hours, not to mention a ton of other people from New York.

Zelda and Malon had picked out several great outfits while her brother and friends had been slaving away with their music. Back at the hotel room, Zelda confided in Malon to see which outfit she should wear to the show for the night. She wasn't trying to impress any guy except Link, who she was bound to talk to him backstage after the show.

"I like that skirt personally," Malon said in an almost irritated voice.

"It's cold outside though," Zelda whined.

"You won't be saying that when Link's hand is moving up into that cute skirt, will you?"

"Malon!"

"I'm just saying that I'd wear it, but that's up to you… Go with the light blue shirt while you're at it," Malon continued.

Fine…" Zelda sighed and agreed with Malon's taste.

Link himself had begun to dress up for the show. Nobody yet had seen his true side, considering the fact that he wasn't allowed to wear piercings at his school. He had a few different piercings back in the day before he had gone to that school, and luckily he had them long enough to where the holes wouldn't close up, so it was just a quick fix.

Mido and Kafei always just had a very casual dress, nothing too extraordinary like Link. They simply wore jeans and a black shirt with the sleeves cut off. It was rather funny to see Kafei without sleeves, since the guy was scrawny as hell. Mido on the other hand had a developed some bulging biceps from playing the drums over the years. Surprising, eh?

Serj was kind of like a mix between Link and the other two; a casual style, with just a little flare to him. He wore a pair of tight black pants with a studded belt, a black shirt with a fishnet undershirt with long sleeves, and his blonde hair just wild with gel.

Then there was Link… He dressed simply for that fact. He just wore a sky blue shirt and his usual faded jeans. Only this time, he let his true colors show. It wasn't often people were able to see the tattoos that lined Link's arms, and his left eyebrow ring and his lip ring had not yet been seen by his comrades. He did a good job with his eye-liner and eye-shadow to give his eyes a very dark look, but not goopy like most people would do. He pretty much was the epitome of stud-muffin.

As they continued to prepare for their show, the students as well as seemingly endless New Yorkers began to flood into the venue. Obviously everyone from San Demas got the front row seats, and they barely even filled up any of the stadium. It was up to Dennis' promotional skills to fill the rest of it up.

Serj poked his head out from the curtain furtively to survey his crowd. They were to began playing in less than a half hour, and almost every seat was full. He was surprised to see that many of their fans were still making their way in where there was almost not room. He hadn't felt nervous, until now.

"I don't know about this guys," Serj stated once he had turned back from the curtain.

"Dude, are you fucking kidding me?" Link snarled, his lip-ring dancing about on his mouth.

"That's a lot of people man," Serj complained, almost sounding like Zelda.

"That's the point you dip-shit. I didn't bring you this far just so you can shit out on us," Link stated angrily.

"Yeah…"

Serj knew that he was right. Shaking off his fear, he shoved a few guitar picks into his pocket and tossed back some water, cooling his itchy throat. Link looked away, but still had a bit of a frown on his face.

Anger swelled within him as he thought of what Serj had just said.

"If he fucks this up for me I'll kill him," he thought to himself.

This was Link's dream, and it wouldn't be ruined by some petty little insecurity complex. He had put Serj there, and he could take him out too. After all, with no Link, there was no Prototype. The others were replaceable, right?

However, these nasty thoughts were wiped from his head as he began to hear the sounds of his audience chanting. Link was pumped up to put on the best show of his life. It was time now. Link's heart thudded in his chest with excitement as he left backstage and headed out onto the pitch black stage. They could see their guitars on their stands and the mics, and that was all they needed.

Their audience had no idea they were up there and were about to blast into a great show. As Link picked up his copper metallic Ibanez and pulled out his medium pick, he exchanged glances with his band mates. Kafei gave him a salute, Mido a just a slight nod, then he averted his attention to Serj. Serj looked at him with his eyes full of determination. Link smiled and nodded to him. Serj nodded back as Mido counted down to their first song.


	15. Chapter 15

Alas! The next chapter in the fic. I know it has been a few months, but I've been putting over 40 hours of overtime into work lately, and my car broke down so I had to get a new one, blablablablabla... Anyways, the biggest reason is that I just seemed to come down with a really bad case of writer's block. This chapter isn't too long, but it leads up to the main section of the plot, so now you can see exactly where things are going. Enjoy and reveiw guys!

Geddy

Chapter 15

Red and blue lights flooded the halls and seemingly endless faces of the crowd. They all cheered and screamed, their hands in the air and their faces illuminated as Mido began his drum rolls of Beast and the Harlot. Cover songs had made them, and they thought it only proper to pay their respects to the artists by playing their songs.

Speed and fury began to surge through Link's wrist as his pick swiftly and rapidly drew its way across the steel strings. With speed and accuracy, he hammered his left fingers onto the top of the fret board, sending a shattered yet sweet sound through the stadium.

Serj's vocal chords screamed a raunchy tone as Link held a high note up on his guitar that mimicked Serj's voice. After Link's left hand slid down, they blasted into the first verse of the song, sending the crowd into an even more cheered and riled faze. Link and Serj were both copying each other on their guitars, only Serj was singing and Link's guitar was a bit louder.

Link couldn't help but grin and feel as though his heart was about to break out of his chest as he started his solo. The crowd roared with amazement as his fingers gracefully and cleanly swept and pulled on the strings, his sweet guitar screaming every emotion that swelled within his mind.

The song flooded by a lot faster than Link had wanted it to, and before they knew it, they were beginning the next song in their set list, Bark at the Moon, by Ozzy. They perfectly nailed each and every song, none of them even coming close to struggling. Their original stuff proved to have a very good crowd appeal, especially Falling Through the Shadows.

Link had always wanted the best mix he could get into a set list. He often found that bands with no variety became just straight up boring after not too long. They went through so many bands and artists it was hard to count: from Marilyn Manson's Beautiful People to John 5's Gein with Envy, which is straight up blue-grass.

Their show was set for four hours long, but Link had every intention on pushing it as far as it could go. They slipped into some more Avenged Sevenfold, some Rush, and a song that Link had thrown in at the last minute… Something very special. Link took a breath as he stepped up to the microphone.

"There's a very special song that I'd like to do tonight for a very special someone… Who sadly couldn't be here to see this. This is a song that is very close to my heart, it's called Always With Me, Always With You," Link finished.

As Mido counted down on his high-hat with soft touches, Link noticed Zelda peering up at him from the front row.

"This is for you too, Zelda," Link thought as he smiled warmly at her.

Zelda smiled back as Link's fingers stretched over the fret-board and began a soft and soothing rhythm song. Serj carried the rhythm as Link started the beginning versus of the song. It was possibly the most beautiful thing Link had ever played. He had never put so much heart and feeling into his music as he did on that cold winter night in the foreign city of New York.

As the song slid to the ending notes, Link felt his heart seize up and his throat tightened. He wanted to cry over the loss of his family… But it was not the time. He had to keep his composure… With the last note, Link let out a huge breath and got on his knees before the crowd.

They roared with amazement as Link's guitar screamed his emotions. Looking up to the ceiling of the massive dome as the crowd screamed and cheered, he could almost see through the building and into the heavens.

"That was for you, Tyler…" he thought to himself.

Link got up from his knees as the crowd continued to cheer. He had shared his pain with the world. Now… he could finally move on.

Blasting into "Damaged" by John 5, the show pushed on and ended better than they could have imagined. They ended up playing for a straight five hours, more than they were supposed, but Link was happy they got more playing time in.

Link swung his guitar behind his back as Mido stood up from behind his drum set. Putting their arms around each other in a row, they all bowed to the roaring crowd. With a last wave of his hand, Link and his band mates turned and headed backstage to their dressing room.

"Holy shit!" Mido shouted and jumped once in the room.

"Damn, that was pretty much the best thing I've ever experienced," Kafei stated simply.

"Holy shit!" repeated Mido.

"Man, the crowd was just drawing me in like you wouldn't believe," Serj countered excitedly.

"Holy shit!"

Link said nothing. He was too happy and yet at the same time sad to even speak. He was glad that he had finally put his brother's soul to rest. Not to mention the fact that the show was a huge success and that his real dream had just been realized.

"Holy shit!"

"Mido you say that one more time and I'm beating the shit out of you," Link growled jokingly.

Dennis had agreed before hand to throw them a rather large party in celebration of the success of the show. Beer was bound to be there, and Link couldn't have been happier. After playing the best show he'd ever play, he'd get drunk afterwards with all of his friends. Can you think of anything better?

Luckily, the backstage of the venue had a room that was massive… at least large enough to cram 200 plus people in it. Consequently, the whole body of students from San Demas was there, and luckily, that was it. For Link, he strangely didn't have the greatest of feelings about it.

A few hours had passed and the party was slowly working its way up. Link just sat in one of the backrooms that was pretty small, his guitar plugged into a small amp. He hadn't plucked a single string though. It just laid there, resting up against his knee lazily.

Link had his left hand on the top of the headstock to keep it from sliding off, and his other hand relaxed against his thick and muscular torso. His eyes were fixed upon the amp, though he wasn't at all looking at it, more like looking through it.

Thoughts spun in his head, but the most concentrated point seemed to be… Zelda…

He had been blowing her off, and he was just now realizing it had been pretty shitty of him. He was so worried about his show that he was giving up his girl friend. True, the show was much more important to him… But what about her feelings?

She understood he was busy and stressed, he knew that. But still… Not talking to her at all over days and days, or just a quick five minute conversation just wasn't cutting it. It was just down right rude.

He flicked the power switch on the amp and set his guitar on the stand next to the couch he sat upon. Jumping up from his place of rest, he decided to make things right. Zelda would not be forgotten… she didn't deserve it. He would make it up to her, and then some for lost time.

Link headed to the door and turned the brass knob. As he headed into the hallway, the music from the party echoing in the long halls. Link chuckled to himself a bit when he heard No One Knows by Queens of the Stone Age playing.

The music and undeterminable blabber of voices grew louder as he stepped up to the room. As he stepped into the room, it seemed to him that all eyes turned to him. Serj was making his way over to him, a huge grin on his face. The music stopped playing and the crowd got quiet.

"Excuse me… Excuse me… Yeah, half-time… ok," Serj shushed the crowd. "I'd like to take a few seconds to not only congratulate this guy, but also thank him. Not only is he the baddest guitar player around, but he's managed to give us a dream. In a few years, we'll be able to look back and realize that we had the honor of going to school with this guy. Let's hear it for Link!"

Roars of cheers and the claps of applause rung through the hallways and the backrooms. Link couldn't help but smile a little sheepishly and rub the back of his head. With Serj's little speech out of the way, the party continued. Link grabbed a beer from the ice chest and popped the cap off.

As he took a solid chug, he noticed Zelda looking at him from the other side of the room, a look of joy in her eyes. Link smiled a bit and squeezed his way through the mass of people towards her.

"Hey," he murmured once he was in front of her.

"You played great, Link!" Zelda exclaimed and threw her arms around him.

Serj noticed this unusual display of affection from his sister, but shrugged it off and tossed back another beer.

Link sat on the couch and lit a cigarette, Zelda sitting down at his side. Taking a quick puff and releasing the soothing smoke from his lungs, he turned and looked in the girl's eyes.

"Look, I know I haven't paid much attention to you lately and…"

"Hey, I know you've been really busy," Zelda cut him off.

"Very true, but that's not excuse for blowing you off. I'm sorry Zelda, you deserve better than that. I'm sorry…"

"It's ok, really. I'm just so happy that everything went well for you and… That you can finally move on now," Zelda explained to him.

"I didn't just play that song for my brother you know."

Zelda smiled at him and he could tell that her eyes had watered a bit. She leaned in and wrapped her arms around his chest, her head resting right underneath his arm pit.

"Come on, let's have some fun. Can you dance?" Link asked.

"Like a hippy maybe…"

"Great! Me too!" Link exclaimed and grabbed her hand.

Some techno music started to play, and Link and Zelda began to dance with the beat. Link's cigarette was almost gone, so he dropped it on the floor and stomped on it. The drinks continued to go around and the drunks began to appear. Link had a couple shots of Ever Clear before it hit him, and Zelda was a lightweight, needless to say. The night spun on and on in a dizzy haze, but all that Link knew was that he was having a good time with all of his friends.

Link's eyes flickered and he winced. The sun shone bright through the windows. He closed his eyes and rolled over a bit. Realizing that there was somebody else in the bed with him, he groggily opened his eyes and glanced over. It was a girl. A naked girl. A naked girl he knew. A naked… Zelda?

Link's eyes darted up from Zelda on the bed next to him and straight into Serj's eyes, who stood in the door war glowering at him. Link braced himself as Serj lunged towards Link.

Link had a horrid hangover, and he knew that there was no way in the world he would be able to fight off his friend. Throwing a pillow at his face, Link tried to make a break for the door. He headache sent him off balance and he slammed his side into the entertainment unit. He realized now he was back in his hotel room.

He felt Serj grab his arm and throw him back into the entertainment unit. Link's side shot with pain. Grabbing his side in order to save himself the pain a bit, he realized his weight had caused the TV to fall over. It was too late now…

The TV crashed down onto his hand, pinning it into the floor. He screamed and hollered in pain, but the real horror set in when he realized Serj wasn't finished. The last thing he could remember before blacking out was moving extremely fast towards the window…


	16. Chapter 16

Here it is, sooner than you guys expected. Here's where the shit hits the fan. Enjoy!

Geddy

Chapter 16

Images began to fade slightly. The blurred vision of Zelda spun around like a high-powered fan. Hate, love, pain, agony…

Link finally began to come around. Pain surged through his right arm and his face burned like a bonfire. Clenching his teeth to rid himself of the pain, he very slowly opened his eyes. He was in an unfamiliar place.

"Link…"

Link could hear someone's voice echoing in his head. He began to realize that his whole body was in the worst pain of his life. What had happened?

"Link… Link!"

Link's eyes finally shot open, a bright light broke into his eyes like knives. His head stirred a bit, trying to focus and adapt. He was able to make out the blurred figure of Mido and Kafei. His hangover still pounded his head like a hammer…

"Link!"

"Yeah..."Link managed to softly murmur.

"Finally man. You've been out for like four hours," Kafei stated.

"What… What happened?" Link stuttered.

"Well, it's a long story kind of. To cut it down, you slept with Zelda and Serj shoved you out of a window that was two stories up. I think that's about it," Mido informed, almost sarcastically.

"Yeah man. I don't suppose you remember to much of anything, do you?" Kafei asked.

"N-No. I don't even remember getting into the hotel room…"

"Didn't think so. Well, Serj did a number on you," Kafei replied.

"Yeah he did. Sheesh Link, you should see yourself," Mido agreed.

"That bad?" Link asked, his eyes closed to block the light that hurt so bad.

"Well, you have a broken wrist, arm, leg… Your face is torn to shreds from the glass from the window. And I hate to say it buddy, but the doc said that your sight may not return to normal. And the moral of the story is?"

"Don't sleep with your best friend's sister," Kafei stated.

"I don't even remember it. I was too drunk," Link explained.

"Good excuse, but try passing that one by Serj. I thought he was going to kill me and Kafei. He's pretty pissed. I'm sure he's back at the hotel room giving Zelda the butt chewing of a life time," Mido informed.

"Ugh… What did I do?" Link sadly asked himself.

"And how many times did you do it?" Mido muttered to no one in particular.

"Well, one thing is for sure Link: You won't be enjoying the next few days of your vacation. And the plane ride home is going to be not only uncomfortable, but… rather awkward…"

Kafei was more than right. Link did NOT enjoy the rest of Christmas break. It was most annoying that he was going to be stuck in some hospital bed until he had to leave to go back home, but the thought that he would have to go back home all messed up was all the worse. To top everything off, he most likely lost Zelda, and his band was for sure done. Without Serj, they were lost. It was true that he could be replaced, but who would take the slot? Link wouldn't take a slug, and everyone knew that. It takes a lot of talent to play guitar and do the kind of vocals that they were going to need, and Serj for sure was backing out of the band.

The most amusing yet sad part of the whole thing was that he didn't even remember if Zelda was good in bed or not. He didn't even know if they had sex in all honesty. Everything was a blur. And if they did do it, there was no way that Link would have remembered protection, so the chances of her being pregnant were… rather high, to say the least.

Link's vision did return over the next few days. He was rather happy about that, but his leg and arm and hand being broken was a huge damper. He couldn't drive like that, and he was going to be on crutches for about a month before he could get a boot for his foot.

Damn! If Serj was going to break a hand and arm, why couldn't he have just picked his left? At least he could write with his right hand, not with his left! School was bound to suck ass…

Kafei was right again, as the plane ride home was difficult. Link hobbled his way through the terminal with his crutches all day, Mido and Kafei at his side. They were great friends to stick with him like that, but Link knew they were mostly there to be Link's body guards against Serj.

"Ah! Damn it!" Link growled.

It was more difficult than he thought it would be trying to squeeze into the small seats on the plane. Mido forced Link to sit by the window… They all knew it wouldn't be a good idea for Link to be on the end where he could easily be smacked with a spiked club from Serj.

Link still hadn't seen Serj yet, which he was not at all upset about. But he hadn't seen even the slightest sign of Zelda, and that did upset him. All of his classmates murmured and gossiped about what happened that night. Some were on Link's side, but most just didn't care. The only reason they were upset was because Prototype was over, and everyone knew it. It was so sad too… They really could have gone somewhere.

Link didn't even have the desire to continue on anymore. He had done what he had set out to do, and he was in enough pain to where he didn't care about anything…

Link sat in coach with Mido at his side and Kafei behind them in the row of seats. Link had plugged in Hemispheres from Rush for the plane ride. That album usually soothed him and calmed his nerves, but it wasn't working well this time. Link pulled his headphones out of his ears just before he caught sight of Serj.

Serj was making his way down the plane to the restrooms, Zelda tailing him like a shadow. Mido and Kafei tensed up, ready for a fight, but nothing happened. Serj stared daggers at Link. He glare was filled with so much macabre that Link could feel his face twitch. Though Link had gotten the shit beat of him, he wasn't prepared to back down. He glared icily back at his once best friend.

Zelda sheepishly followed behind him, her eyes full of terror. She didn't even look at anything, save the floor. Her head was low and her eyes fixed on her brother's feet. They passed by, and Link could feel the tension in the air thin out as he drew out of sight.

"Damn, that's pretty bad…" Kafei muttered.

"When I heal, I swear to god I'm going to beat the living hell out of that guy…" Link stated.

"Dude, can you really blame him? You screwed his sister," Mido began.

"Don't tell me you're taking his side!" Link growled.

"No way man, I'm just saying… He kind of has a right to be mad."

"That's true, but turning me into road kill when it wasn't even a fair fight was a little too much if I may say so," Link grunted.

"Yeah. That's true…"

Link stared out the window the rest of the way home, mostly so he wouldn't notice if Serj was around or not. What was he supposed to do? He lost his band, his best friend and… He almost hated to admit, but he loved Zelda more than anything.

The plane touched down after a flight that seemed to last forever. The snow that he had begun to adapt to was gone, and the sun shown bright. The air was bone chilling, but by no stretch nearly as cold as New York had been.

Mido and Kafei grabbed Link's backpack and helped him out of the plane. As he made his way through the terminal, he began to feel the everything really settle with him. Now that he was home, he…

"Oof!"

Link's face smashed into the floor. It felt as though his crutch had been ripped out from under him. He looked up from the ground and noticed Serj hurrying with Zelda behind him. She looked back at him with a look of sadness in her eyes before Serj grabbed her arm and ripped her away.

"What an asshole," Mido stated as he helped Link to his feet.

He had already done enough damage. Kicking his crutch out from his feet was just downright wrong now. Link shook it off and headed out with his friends. There was no way he could drive, so Mido drive him and his luggage home. After helping Link get all of his stuff upstairs and into his apartment, he turned to leave.

"Say… I'll see you at school in a couple days, right?" Mido asked.

"Don't count on it," Link muttered.

"Right… Well, if you need any help with anything, feel free to call me, alright man?" Mido offered.

"Will do."

Mido nodded to him and shut the door on his way out. Link sat on his couch staring at the blank TV screen. He almost felt like he was swallowed by the darkness that was beginning to creep into his house from the night.

He wanted to play his guitar, but that would be pretty hard with only one hand. Although, he was good enough where he could play stuff with just his left hand. Well, mostly…

Two days quickly passed by and it was time for school. He didn't bother calling anyone for a ride. He wouldn't be returning for a while… If at all. Link just sat on the couch at home, staring at the TV almost the whole time.

Going back to school would be the most difficult thing he had ever done. Link knew that he was only going to be sitting around collecting dust until the spring came around. He began to feel like he was in hibernation.

Mido brought food to him and was even cool enough to rent movies for him here and there. The days passed by slowly and dismally. Mido had taken him to the nearby hospital after a couple months to begin removing everything that was wrong with him.

"Argh…"

Link scratched his arm vigorously after they took the cast off. His hand was itching like crazy too… While he scratched on his arm, they took off the boot to see if he was ready to walk again. After taking some x-rays, they decided he was good to go again.

"Wow, it took you forever to heal," Mido stated.

"Shut up," Link muttered as he limped after Mido, scratching his arm the whole way.

"What's the matter Link? Not used to walking normal any more?" Mido joshed.

"Hey fuck you man. I haven't washed my leg or my arm in a long ass time, so shut up."

"And that has something to do with you not being able to walk… how?"

"Fuck you…"

Mido drove him home, and finally his arm stopped itching. They were on spring break at the time, so Link still had a few more days to get ready to go back to hell, I mean school.

He walked up the stairs to his apartment and opened the door. Eager to play his guitar once more, he hooked up his amp and effects box. He was amazed at how bad he sucked now. His left hand was still primed, but his right hand had lost all the speed and accuracy it once had. He was more than frustrated, but he had to get as good as he had been before.

After about five straight hours of practice, he finally set his guitar down. He felt comfortable with his skills again. At least one thing was going good.

The day crept on and before Link knew it, it was one in the morning. Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure was on the TV, so he decided to sit down and groove on that for a while. He loved Bill and Ted… In a way, it kind of reminded him of how things were before he fucked up.

He was a little startled when his cell phone went off. Who the hell could be calling him at this time? He glanced at the caller ID, but whoever it was apparently was blocking his call. He shrugged and flipped the phone open.

"Hello?"

No answer.

"Hello!"

"Hi…"

"Zelda! Oh my god…"

"Mido told me that you're healed now," she began.

"Yeah, I'm fine now. Except for the scars on my face… But how are you?" he asked, excited to be able to talk to her again.

"I guess I'm ok. Things have been hard lately," she began.

"I can imagine. What happened with Serj?" he asked.

"He basically just chewed me out and now he watches me like a hawk. He always keeps the car keys in his pocket so I can never leave unless I want to walk. But lately, I haven't really even cared, you know?" she recanted.

"Yeah, I know that feeling all too well…"

"Well, I'm guessing you'll be coming back to school pretty soon now, won't you?"

"Yeah, yeah I am…"

"That's good. Serj is still livid though, so watch out," she warned.

"Yeah, I'll keep that in mind."

"Well, I'll see you in a couple days."

"Alright then."

"Bye."

Link heard the phone click and the line went dead. He clicked his phone shut. Why the hell was she calling him after he was fine? Why didn't she call when he really needed her?

Link knew that Serj had gotten to her somehow. He was still trying to decide whether or not he wanted to whip his ass or not. He shook his head and headed to his bed. It was going to be pretty rough from here on in…

The last two days of spring break blew by quickly, and soon Link was packing his books back into his backpack. Luckily for him, Mido had gone out of his way to explain to all the teacher's that Link was very "sick", and wasn't going to be to school for a while. As a result, the teacher's waved it and just had Mido give Link all of his homework so he didn't get behind at all. How Mido managed to swing that off? You don't want to know…

Link threw his backpack into the backseat of his car and slid himself in. The air was cool and thick with dew and a light fog. He turned the ignition over and shut his door. As he drove to his high school, he began to have a really bad feeling about something. It wasn't about Serj though… It was about Zelda.

Link pushed it into the back of his mind as he pulled into the parking lot for a new season of school. Well, for him it was a new season at least. Everyone else just saw it as a shitty day back to school.

Mido awaited him at the front doors of the massive school. Link could see from very far away that Mido was smiling. Kafei was standing not too far away from him, which came as no surprise.

Link was wearing his usual pair of ole shabby jeans and a tight black sure that he had tucked into his pants secured by a black belt. His shaggy blonde hair swayed with him as he walked.

"Good to see you on your feet," Mido joshed.

"Funny… very funny…"

"Feels weird, don't it?" Kafei asked as they shoved the doors open and headed inside.

"Just a little," Link said sarcastically with a furl of his eyebrow.

Link's head began to hurt as the echoes of seemingly endless voices echoed through the huge gray halls. He had been trapped in his apartment for so long that he had almost forgotten how loud the students were.

Link's first period teacher greeted him with a very warm welcome. Link only gave a wry smile before sitting down. He knew it was only a matter of time before he and Serj were to run into each other. Link tried to shake the thought from his head, but his brain was stuck on one track.

"I'll beat the shit out of him if he tries anything…" he thought to himself.

He heard a loud snapped and looked down. A couple students stared at him as he tossed the broken pencil he was once held into the trash can. He looked down at his desk and began thinking again. He was mostly confused more than anything. He didn't know whether to hate Serj or to respect him.

Link's brain began to heard thinking about it. Massaging his forehead, he glanced at the clock.

"Both! There, that was easy…" he thought.

Surely both hating him and respecting him was the easiest, right? Well, at least he thought. He'd find out sooner or later.

He jumped from his desk when the bell went off and shot out the door like a rocket. Not only had he forgotten how loud everyone was, he had also forgotten how boring classes were. School sucks…

Lunch rolled around soon and passed by just as fast. Though the classes were incredibly boring, they seemed to zoom by like the speed of light. Link knew it was because he wasn't even attempting to pay attention, but just kept thinking about everything that was going on. Zelda…

School was soon over and Link had no desire to be there any longer. His head to the floor, he ignored all the people that attempted to greet him. He knew they were only trying to comfort him on his return, but he didn't care. He just wanted to go home.

The sun shone bright as he pushed through the huge doors and made his way down the steps that led to the parking lot. His black car gleamed in the light brilliantly as he made his way to it.

"Link…"

"Damn it!" he thought as he turned at the sound of a girl's voice.

Zelda stood before him, looking just as she did before… except… her eyes seemed different. Like they had a thick sheet of darkness over them; it sent a bone chilling vibe up Link's spine.

"Zelda!" Link exclaimed and took a step towards her.

"Don't!" she shouted suddenly.

"W-what?" Link stuttered, absolutely shocked.

"This is the only time I'm allowed to talk to you, and it's strictly business," she explained.

"Permission? Last time I checked you were a person, not a slave," Link retorted.

"Look, my brother wants the keys to the warehouse so he can get his amps and stuff out. I don't think they need to be there anymore," she explained like a scared puppy, her books tightly pressed against her chest with her hands.

"What! Are you kidding me!" Link growled.

"Well…"

"Some fucken nerve that little piss ant has! He doesn't have the balls to talk to me when I'm sober!" Link yelled.

"Link, please…"

"And you! What the fuck is wrong with you? You're like his bitch or something now!"

"Well, I mean…"

"No, he can't have the keys until he gets the guts to talk to me himself. And you're a stupid little bitch for acting like this. He doesn't control you. You are your own person, so knock this shit off!" Link shouted again.

"Link, I have to do what he tells me…"

"You're a fucking drone Zelda, piss off," Link snarled before hurling his bag into the car and tearing off.

Dust flew into Zelda's face as she watched him go. The dirt stuck to her face as the tears began to flow. What had happened to her Link?

She turned and walked back to the school, her head low and her tears dried. She knew this was only the beginning of the end…


	17. Chapter 17

Another chapter, and a good one at that. Well, at least I'm proud of it, but I'm sure that most of you won't be too fond of it. If you're looking for the joy and happiness that was once the basis of this fic, it's gone for the time being, and everything is getting more and more depressing and sad. But, it's ok. Because I have the master plan for this fic. As always, read, review, and enjoy.

Geddy

Chapter 17

Link's fury spun with him as he tore down the streets, breaking the speed limit by over 15 miles.

"What a jackass!" Pussy ass mother fucker! Doesn't even have the balls to face me himself, he sends his little bitch to do his dirty work!" Link yelled to himself.

His fury spiked when he looked in his rear-view mirror to see the flicking blue and red lights of a cop car.

"Damn!"

Zelda on the other hand was the exact opposite of Link on her way home. She sat in the passenger seat, the cold biting her nose and fingers despite the efforts of the heater. The dirty tears on her face only made her body colder.

"You ok?" Serj asked calmly, his eyes fixed on the road ahead.

"No, Serj, I'm not ok…"

"Don't worry about that asshole. You were right about him from the beginning, I just wasn't smart enough to see it," Serj recanted.

"Shut up!" she screamed suddenly.

"Excuse me!" Serj growled.

"You fucken heard me you egotistical asswipe!" Zelda shouted again.

Serj was actually a little stunned. His sister had never gone off on him like that, and it was more than just strange. His eyes narrowed a bit…

"You are such an asshole, you know that! I made one mistake and you're going off on it like it's the biggest thing ever. Seriously, get the fuck over it. Don't you think you've done even damage? It wasn't even Link's fault, he was fucking drunk!"

"That's no excuse," Serj retorted.

"Maybe not to you, but I've got some news for you asshole! I've been with Link since the middle of last year. Yeah, that's right," Zelda continued when she noticed the look on her brother's shocked face.

"What?"

"Yeah, that's right you dumbfuck. You fucked up everything! Me and Link were happy together, and I don't even regret what happened in New York. You're treating me like a slave, and I'm fucken tired of it! Now even Link hates me because of you. This shit is going to stop!" she screamed, her cries becoming more emotional as tears stretched down her face.

"Zelda, I'm just trying to look out for your wellbeing and taking care of you!" Serj shouted back.

"Well, you're not! You're the worst thing that has ever happened to me. I fucken hate you!"

By this time, they had pulled up in the driveway. Serj didn't know what to say. Zelda threw the door to the car open and slammed it shut as hard as she could. She stomped off to the house in complete rage and loathing.

Serj sat in his car, just staring at the steering wheel. He had never meant for this to happen… he was just trying to take care of his baby sister. His throat tensed, but he couldn't hold back.

His face turned red as he rested his head on the steering wheel. He sobbed harder than he ever had, crying more than anyone could have ever dreamed of. He really had fucked things up, hadn't he? The night fell before he even felt like getting out of his car.

Link on the other hand was still pissed. He ended up having to go down to the courthouse and pay a two-hundred and forty dollar fine for a speeding ticket. He stormed up the steps of his apartment and slammed the door shut.

""AAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHH!"

Link yelled at the top of his lungs as he threw himself down on the couch. He had never been so frustrated in his life. As the anger twirled around in his hot head, he knew he had to do something. He HAD to.

He stood up from his couch and turned his CD player on full blast with John 5's "Sin". Picking up his guitar, he flipped on his amp and just wailed on it. He put all of his hate into playing.

His fingers pressed so hard onto the fret board they began to bleed, but he didn't even care. It felt really good at the moment. Freaking out even more, he threw his guitar onto the couch and headed to the bathroom.

His head was so wired and bugged out that he couldn't even control himself. Snatching a razor of the sink counter, he roughly and very powerfully ripped across his wrist. Blood poured out of his wrist, and the pain felt good. He clenched his fist as tight as he could as to squeeze out more of the crimson pain. As funny as it may sound, it hurt so good…

Enraged even more, he punched the mirror, shattering it to thousands of pieces. The glass drew down and sliced up his knuckles, even more blood coating his hand with his clenched fist. He fell to his knees and started to cry finally. What had happened to everything he once knew? The once great Link had fallen to pieces…

As he fell out of consciousness, he couldn't help but think about Zelda, who was up in her room seething. Serj scratched his head and headed up the stairs of their house. Feeling worse than ever, he made his way to his sister's room… with caution.

"Zelda?" he called as he lightly knocked on her door.

"What!" she screamed.

"Can I come in?"

"Fuck off!"

Ignoring her attitude, he opened the door, but quickly retreated as he saw a vase come splashing against the door, glass flying in every direction. Poking his head in to make sure the coast was clear, he stepped into the room to see his crying sister.

She was on the edge of her bed with her hands in her face, balling like he had never seen. Feeling such guilt, he slowly walked over to her and sat down on the bed next to her. He leaned into her and put his arms around her to comfort the girl.

"What happened to everything?" she balled and wrapped her arms around her brother, drenching his shoulder with tears.

"Things just happen Zelda, we'll just have to deal with it and move on…"

"Easier said than done," she stated even through her sobs.

"I know, I know all too well. I can't make things right, and I know I can't. I fucked up, and I fucked up bad. I didn't just hurt other people, but I hurt myself too you know," he attempted a comforting statement.

"How?"

"Well, look at. I mean, the whole senior class hates me for what I did, and I get evil stares all the time now. That's not too bad, but Link handed me my dream on a silver platter, and look what I did. I let my temper get out of hand and I threw it away like trash. There's no way anything could ever happen again…"

Serj stayed with her until she finally cried herself to sleep. Resting her head on the white fluffy pillow, he drew the warm blankets over her and kissed her forehead. Shaking his head, he headed out of her room and lightly shut the door.

He grabbed his face and leaned up against the door. Sliding down it like a dead body, he slumped into a strange form and just rested there. He fucked up more than he would ever know…

The darkness began to fade and light broke as the morning dawned a new day. Link still laid in his bathroom in a pool of blood. Suddenly, he felt horrifying pain surge through his body. He coughed and sputtered as the stench of blood flowed into his nostrils.

He grabbed the edge of the sink and pulled himself up. Glancing at the clock, he noticed that it was only 6 in the morning. Shaking his head from the throbbing pain, he slid into the shower with his clothes on and turned on the warm water. He just simply laid there and let the soothing water wash over his body.

He could feel the sticky blood begin to break up and return to it's liquid form as the warm water soaked into it. Blood ran down his face and over all of his clothes. He hadn't never cared less in his life.

He laid there for what seemed like three hours, but when he finally came to and got out, he realized that had only been in there for forty-five minutes. Throwing his wet clothes into the corner of his bathroom, he grabbed a nearby towel and began to dry himself off. Avoiding his cuts as much as possible, he then realized he would have to bandage all of that up.

Grabbing bandage and some medical tape, he wrapped up his wrist several times before stretching to tape over it. He was more than surprised that the cut didn't go too deep. He knew however that there was no way he would be able to cover up his bruised and sliced knuckles.

Grabbing a pair of boxers and jeans, he slid them on and grabbed a nearby Avenged Sevenfold T-shirt. He picked up his hoody and tossed it on to at least cover up the bandage, and luckily for him, he had cut thumbholes in it, which pretty much covered his knuckles. Sighing, he stretched a beanie over his head and slumped down onto the couch.

He didn't have to leave for another thirty minutes, so he grabbed his guitar and rested it on his thigh. He winced in pain however when he realized he had cut the fingertips on his left hand. Aggravated at the fact that he couldn't even practice his guitar, he laid it down and entered the cold morning air outside his apartment.

He sighed more as he pulled his cigarettes from his hoody pocket and flipped open his Zippo. He inhaled the soothing cancer into his lungs and closed his eyes. It felt so good, despite how much his wrist and hand was eating away at his nerves. The smoke helped to calm and sooth him, and almost fired him up for another day. Link had a feeling that he was going to be like this for a while now… dismal… lost… dead….

When he got to school, Mido and Kafei were even able to pick up on it. Things with Link seemed as though his mind was thrown into a gutter, then stuck back in his head with mud all over it. He was acting strange… like he didn't care about anything… They were right.

"You… you ok man?" Mido asked.

"I'm good," Link lied.

"Seriously. You look really pale…"

Link knew this was from blood loss, but he sure as hell wasn't about to tell anyone about it. He listened intently to all of his teachers and took notes, something Link normally would not have done. It wasn't that he cared about his classes, oh no. He didn't have anything better to do, since he didn't really think at all anymore.

Zelda was the opposite in her classes. She stared into space and didn't even seem like she could see in color. She chewed on the bland eraser of her school issued pencil, continually thinking about Link. She wondered if he hated her, loved her, didn't care either way, or what exactly was going on through his head. One of her guesses had to be right, but here was no way of knowing without hearing it from Link's mouth.

Though, she knew just as well as Serj did that there was no way Link would talk to either of them in a civilized manner. Or… would he? There was only way for her to find out… wasn't there? She had to try…

Lunch swept on in and Link headed to the cafeteria. Mido and Kafei met him there and they filed into the line that began to form for the crap they called food. Mido and Kafei seemed a little nervous, and almost tense around Link, but he didn't pick up on it. He himself felt nervous, like a little lost puppy.

"So, you're actually going to eat with us today?" Kafei started in conversation.

"Yeah," Link replied simply.

"What you going to get?" Mido asked, trying to push him into saying more than one word.

"Dunno."

Mido looked at Kafei and shrugged. Link just leaned up against the wall and looked down at his feet. He totally looked gone, either that or he had developed a sudden fascination with his bloody shoes.

"Wait a second…" Kafei began.

"Why's there blood on your shoes?" Mido cut in.

"Dunno."

"Link!" Mido growled.

"What?" Link asked, not at all in a convincing voice.

"Let me see your wrist," Mido demanded, a little scared that Link had done something stupid.

"Why?"

"Just let me see it," Mido pushed, a little more forcefully.

"No."

"Link!"

"Fine!" Link snarled and pulled the hoody sleeve up to reveal his wrist.

"The other one," Kafei said.

"No," Link said with a glare.

Mido snatched his left sleeve and yanked it up, revealing a bloody bandage and dozens of cuts all along his hand and knuckles.

"Oh my god, Link," Kafei said.

"Don't worry about it… I'll… I'll… be… fine," Link assured, but began to slur his words and get really dizzy.

"Link… Link!" he heard someone's voice echo in his head.

He suddenly felt very cold and light headed. His eyes rolled around in their sockets in a irate fashion. He suddenly felt a horrible feeling in his stomach and he lurched forward. His throat suddenly burned with fire as blood spewed out of his mouth.

From the other side of the cafeteria, Zelda watched with horror as she saw him collapse to the ground.


	18. I Won't See You Tonight

Chapter 18

I Won't See You Tonight

The harmonic sound of a beeping computer finally began to wake Link. He flinched from the light a bit as he attempted to open his eyes.

"Oh god, not again…" he thought.

He realized that the beeping was coming from a heart monitor next to his hospital bed. Sighing heavily, he opened his eyes and quickly adapted to the blinding light. He could hear someone breathing just to his left.

"At least you're consistent," Mido sighed.

"Shut up," Link groaned.

"Why'd you do it?"

"It felt good I suppose," Link replied, closing his eyes and clearing his throat.

"You probably don't feel too great now. You're lucky you didn't die from blood loss you dumb ass. Now you can't leave to go back to school till next week," Mido explained, a little irritatingly.

"Gee, that sucks," Link replied sarcastically.

"Look man, you need to get your head straight, ok? At this rate, you'll either kill yourself or end up dropping out of school. So, you either end up dead or you'll end up as some useless bum working at Taco Bell for the rest of your life. Which once sounds better?"

"Hey, some people can make a very good living off of Taco Bell…"

"Damn it Link! You're my best friend and if I have to see any more of this shit I'm out man. I can't deal with it!" Mido shouted and stood up from his chair.

Link watched him as he stormed out of the room, his head red with aggravation. Link sighed again and stared at the wall in front of him. He felt ok now, but now his brain hurt.

He hadn't even thought about what it was he was doing to Mido, Kafei, and all of his other friends around the school. And the way he had treated Zelda was just horrible. He knew that Serj would eventually straighten up his attitude, but that didn't mean everything would be ok. By no stretch did it mean anything would the way it used to be…

Zelda on the other hand just laid on her bed crying. Watching Link rushed off to the hospital with blood all over his mouth and hands was the most horrifying sight she had ever seen. She just prayed he would be ok. She wiped her tears and sat up quickly when she heard her door open.

"Hey," Serj greeted calmly as he stepped into her room, leaving the door slightly cracked behind him.

"Hey…"

"Link's fine… He just had too much blood loss. Sounds like he cut his wrist this morning," he explained.

Zelda cried a little more. She couldn't figure out why Link had taken such a turn for the worse. Granted, his life had crumbled to nothing in just a short matter of time, but still. It was like he had lost his mind all of a sudden.

"He'll be ok though, right?" she asked hopefully.

"Well, that's the rumor I hear. Well, at least he'll physically be ok. I don't know if this is going to continue or not, but… we'll just have to see, I guess…"

"Yeah, we'll see… you know you have the power to fix this, right?"

"No I don't," he retorted sharply and left her room.

He knew she was right though. He couldn't fix Link, but he could take away Link's excuse for fucking himself up the way he had been. Maybe it was time he did something. It had been months already, and everyone makes mistakes. He shook his head and headed out to his car.

Link was still just thinking about where everything had gone. Everyday seemed to lead from bad to worse, fast. He couldn't figure out whether or not there was anything he could do anything about it.

"I know…"

A thought sprung in his head. Forget. Not forgive, just forget. Forget about Zelda, Prototype, everything. That may not seem like the easier nor the most plausible conclusion or solution, but it certainly would fix it.

Just as he had decided this however, the door to his hospital room opened. Through the corner of his eye, he caught Serj of all people. His body tensed and his mind burned with hate. He may be a little out of it, but he was bound and determined to take him down no matter what.

"Hey," Serj greeted.

Link said nothing but just looked at him coldly, almost as though he couldn't see him. Serj looked down to the floor. It was a little difficult to look into his old friend's eyes.

"Listen, uh, I think we need to talk," he began.

"Things are over Serj, don't bother," Link growled.

"For good?"

"Yes, for good," Link replied.

"Oh, I see," Serj said sadly with a nod.

"I know that I did something I shouldn't have Serj, but the fact that you drove me to this is unforgivable. No apology will ever heal my heart," Link said to him, surprisingly calm.

"I know man, I know I fucked things up, bad. I never even knew you and my sister were together…"

"What makes it worse is that I even loved her until you pulled this bullshit. You're so stupid. Who would you rather her be with? Some random guy or your best friend, who you know beyond a shadow of a doubt would take care of her and would never hurt her. No, you didn't think about that. You just went and destroyed both your sister, me, and Prototype. There's no turning back and you know it," Link explained icily.

"Yeah, I know I really did fuck up. Sadly, now, I would welcome you and my sister being together…"

"I think you blew that too. I don't even have a desire to deal with anymore headaches now."

"Yeah…"

They stood there in silence, Serj looking down at his feet and Link staring off into space. Sighing heavily, Serj gripped the door handle and twisted it. Just before leaving, he looked back over his shoulder and glanced at his good friend.

"I know it might not mean anything, but… I'm sorry, for everything. I hope you can accept that and we can be cool again, like old times. Maybe even start up the band again," Serj groped hopefully.

"No way man. The only thing this does is eliminates the tension around us, but there's no way we can return to the way things were. You know that just as well as I do," Link stated.

"Yeah… I'll see you next week," Serj said sadly and exited the room, lightly shutting the door behind him.

Link heaved a very heavy sigh when the door closed. Things were over… done with… for good. He could go back to school, finish it, and figure out what he wanted to do. He had always thought of standup comedy too… He was a funny guy after all…

The days trickled by slowly and after what seemed an eternity, the hospital released Link and he headed home. He felt ok again, but a little empty at the same time. He was trying to decide whether or not he cared about Zelda or not… that was hard to say. He would just have to figure that out with time…

The other thing that had his mind in a knot is Serj. The first thing that he had thought was about his apology. He kind of figured that Serj was just desperately trying to restart Prototype so he could get his fame and glory, but was that really the case? He'd never know, sadly.

The week spun by and Link left the hospital Sunday. Kafei picked him up this time, instead of Mido. Link knew Mido was pissed at him, and he hardly blamed him. Things would be easy to patch with the old blonde guy though, they always were.

Kafei didn't seem to have much to say to him either, which aggravated Link a little. He blew it off all the same and just accepted the help. They had spoken few words when they pulled into the apartment complex that housed Link.

"Thanks for the ride man," Link thanked as he popped open the door of Kafei's small truck.

"Yeah," Kafei replied simply.

Link rolled his eyes and slammed the door shut. Shaking his head a bit, he headed up the steps to his door and pulled out his keys from his pocket. Just as his hand dug into his pocket for the door key, his phone started to vibrate a bit. His eyebrows furled, he pulled it out as well as the keys and glanced at it. Text message… From Serj… Opening up his phone, he read the text:

"Hey, do you think you would be able to meet me at the warehouse so you can unlock the door so I can get my stuff?" it read.

He sighed and texted back that Serj needed to be there in thirty minutes. He only took a few moments to run into his apartment and get a quick drink of water and change his clothes.

He put on the usual torn jeans and the tight black shirt. Grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge, he closed the door to his apartment and locked it. Heading down the stairs, he realized that the days were beginning to heat up much much more.

Wiping a bit of sweat from his head, he slumped into his car and pulled out of the parking lot to head down to the warehouse. It wasn't too far of a drive, and to no surprise of his, he beat Serj there.

Sighing a bit, he got out of his car and headed to the warehouse door. Well, more like a gate… He twisted the key in the keyhole and heaved the heavy door upwards. It clicked and rattled until it came to a halt at the top towards the roof. The musty smell of dirt and sweat ran through his nostrils, reminding him of the hours and hours of practice he had spent in there.

Mido's shiny drum set was set up, as well as Kafei's bass and his whole amp system. Serj's was as well, but Link's was still packed up in the cases. Link was a little puzzled as to why everything was set up. It's not like anyone had practiced at all since they had returned from New York. Shrugging it off, he sat down on the chair he always used and heaved a sigh.

Glancing around the dark warehouse room, thoughts of all the old days and the good times started to flood back to him. He grinned a bit as he remembered some of the things that had happened over the years in the warehouse. The sound of a car pulling up ripped him from his thoughts, but he was rather surprised at who it was. Mido…

As Mido got out of his car, Kafei pulled up, and Serj only seconds later. Link stood from his chair and raised an eyebrow. The three guys all looked at each other nervously before heading towards Link.

"What's… going on guys?" Link asked.

"There's no easy way to tell you this Link… but…" Kafei began.

"Basically man, just because you don't want to be part of the band, that doesn't mean we have to stop too… So basically we're going to change our name and go on without you man," Mido explained.

"We've already switched the warehouse space into our name so we can pay the rent for it," Serj stated, noting that Link was shocked beyond belief.

Link looked down to the ground and dug his hands into his pockets. Staring at the pattern on his shoes, he was completely speechless. He didn't expect this… for all three of his friends to backstab him like that was the last thing he had ever seen coming.

"Fuck you guys. Fuck all of you," Link stated calmly, looking at each of them with an amused look on his face.

Shaking his head, he walked past them, his eyes still glued to the ground. He could feel rage and pain building up within him. He couldn't just end it like that… could he?

"You know what?" Link started as he turned to face them, his hands still in his pockets.

The three guys looked at Link, bracing themselves. Link could tell they felt bad and were scared, but he didn't give a shit.

"All three of you know that I'm having a tough time as it is. For you to pull this kind of bullshit is… it's… that's just it. Bullshit. That's all it is. You'll get what's coming to you later."

With that, he opened the door to his car and reversed out of the gravel lot and onto the main road. Throwing the gear into drive, he ripped down the road and out of sight.

"That went well," Kafei said sarcastically once Link was out of sight.

"Could have been worse," Mido replied.

Serj said nothing. He felt terrible. Link had given him this whole opportunity, and the guy wouldn't even be able to reap the benefits. He shook his head and went to his car solemnly.

Link's fury soon diminished and turned to sorrow. Tears started to stream down his eyes and cloud his vision. There was only one place he could run to now…

His throat felt tight as he pulled up in the grassy plain outside the cemetery. Stepping out of his car, he felt the hard and powerful wind blaze past his face. Wiping the tears from his eyes, he headed over to his family's gravestone.

"Wow, so much has changed since I last came here," he began as he got on his knees before them.

"I ended up meeting this awesome girl, went to New York and played a great gig, but I'm sure you guys heard me. It's amazing how fast things can change, huh? Ended up sleeping with the girl by accident, which fucked it all up. Her brother nearly killed me, I've been in the hospital more than I would like lately. I can't even talk to the girl anymore, my band is gone… god…"

He couldn't hold the tears back any longer. The knot in his throat unraveled and the tears flowed. He sat there on his knees before his parents and brother crying his heart out to them. Things just never seemed to get better…

"Why can't you talk to me?"

Link whirled around when he heard a girl's voice. Zelda stepped out from behind the tree she had hidden behind months earlier. Link quickly wiped the tears away and stood up to face her.

"Zelda… There's something I need to tell you," he began.

She nodded, an almost motherly look on her face. Link wanted to just break down and cry on her shoulder for the rest of his life, but he knew he had to keep his composure.

"Look, from the moment I met you, even though I wouldn't admit, I knew there was something special about you. When I got to know you, I realized that you were the most amazing person in the world. No guitar skills I will ever have will ever compare to how great you are. I've wanted to tell you this so often, but I never could… I… I love you Zelda."

Zelda looked down to the ground. She didn't know what to say. Things had gotten so weird that she couldn't even keep track of anything anymore.

"I guess my question is… could you ever love me?" he asked.

Looking up from the ground, she looked into his deep blue eyes. She knew he was filled with sorrow. But through all that she had done and been through, she couldn't take anymore of it.

"No…"

Link's heart shattered into a thousand pieces. He choked back on his own tongue and nodded. He looked to the ground and hurried off to his car. As he drove off, Zelda watched him peel away into the far distance. Turning back around, she looked down at his parent's grave.

She slowly walked over to them, her heart feeling lower than ever. Kneeling down before them, tears started to flow.

"I know I've never talked to you before, but I'm the girl that Link spoke of. He's been through so much that he doesn't deserve… He's such a great guy…"

From then on the tears broke loose and her voice cried nothing but sheer pain. She had just done something so horrible. She could lie to everyone, anyone… other than herself.

"I lied… I love him… I love him!" she shouted through her cries of sorrow.

Link sat on the couch in his apartment staring at the blank TV screen, his eyes filled with a dark abyss. He couldn't think, and he felt like he couldn't breath. He had to get rid of this pain. Picking up his phone, he punched in a number and brought the phone to his ear.

"Hey. I need a favor."

Zelda on the other hand laid on her bed, her blanket wrapped around her and her head on the pillow, staring to the wall to her right. Curling up into a ball, she clenched her eyelids shut as a tear streamed down her cheek and onto the floor.

Link headed to his door after a knock sounded. An old friend of his handed him a brown bag and turned to leave. Link shut the door and emptied the contents of the bag onto his counter. Papers, a lighter, marijuana, and cocaine…

Back at Serj's house, he himself sat on the couch in the massive, empty living room, his hands buried in his face. Sighing, he looked up over his hands and started into space. Leaning back onto the couch, he rubbed his eyes and sighed a second time.

Link meanwhile finished rolling two joints and already had the first lit. Inhaling the disgusting smoke, he coughed it back up and choked over and over again. He continued to take drags of the substance. He could feel his body creep over with a fuzzy feeling. Things started to go into slow motion and his throat burned like fire.

In the warehouse, Mido sat at his drum set, his sticks on the snare in front of his drum throne. He just stared at the sticks as though they were missing something. The music he knew so well was missing life.

Link drew out a line of the cocaine across the counter after he finished his two joints. Looking at the white line, he shook his head and drew more of the white powder across the line. Plugging one end of his nose, he drew his open nostril over the line, inhaling through his nose the whole way.

Kafei sat up in his room, his bass leaning up against his knee. He felt the same as everyone else… Dead.

Staggering into the living room, Link grabbed onto the wall to catch himself from falling. Regardless, his hand slid down the wall and he slumped to the floor. Jaggedly pulling himself back up, he felt everything slow down more and more.

One last tear dripped down from Zelda's emerald eyes. The first of many tears to be shed over Link. He knight in shining armor. Her one… and her only… true lover.

With that, Link's bloodshot eyes rolled into the back of his head and he fell onto the couch. Breath was limited… vision was gone. Heart rate… decreasing… As Zelda's tear hit the ground, Link's body stood still.

I don't really know what happened to Link that day. After the whole drug ordeal, I, nor anyone else ever saw him again. Over these last six years, he has become a legend in the city of San Demas, California. I've gone on, and Kafei and Mido have done the same. It's hard to leave him behind, especially for Zelda. I can see it in her eyes every day. She loved him, I know it. But who knows? Maybe we'll see him again someday by chance. Regardless, he'll always be my hero, and to this day, by best friend.

Serj Green – 2012

Cry alone, I've gone away

No more nights, no more pain

I've gone alone, took all my strength

But I've made the change,

I won't see you tonight

Sorrow, sank deep inside my blood

all the ones around me,

I cared for and loved

Building up, inside of me

A place so dark, so cold, I had to set me free

Don't mourn for me, you're not the one to place the blame

As bottles call my name, I won't see you tonight

Sorrow, sank deep inside my blood

all the ones around me,

I cared for and most of all I loved

but I can't see myself that way

Please don't forget me

Or cry while I'm away

Cry alone, I've gone away

No more nights, no more pain

I've gone alone, took all my strength

But I've made the change,

I won't see you tonight

So far away, I'm gone. Please don't follow me tonight.

And while I'm gone, everything will be alright.

No more breath inside

Essence left my heart tonight

No more breath inside

Essence left my heart tonight

-Avenged Sevenfold: I Won't See You Tonight-Part 1

Well ladies and gents, that's a wrap for Always With Me, Always With You. I'm sure it's not the ending you were expecting, nor the ending you wanted. Clichés have never been attracted to me, therefore I didn't really want to end it with the good ole sweet syrupy kiss where everyone wins in the end. I wrote this to get some things off my chest and to make something relating. I took some dear old characters that I love and used them in the real world. This is life, the way it is in our world today.

You all may be sad, but hey, I do have some good news… I just saved a bunch of money on my car insurance by switching to Geico! But the actual good news is that a sequel will be following shortly. This story means a lot to me and to a lot of my fans. To end the entire story like this would be a disgrace, in all honestly. Expect for the sequel very shortly.

Thanks to all for reading and enjoying. I just hope that this story was able to either help or inspire you in some different way. Thanks to EVERYONE who has read this. Without you guys, this story wouldn't have made it past chapter 11. Again, thank you so much, and I shall return… And so will Prototype.


End file.
